Fallacies of Presumption

A lawyer asks a witness: “Since you have stopped smoking, when did you start feeling healthier?” Answer the question at all, and you have admitted you used to smoke — something never actually proved. This topic studies arguments that sneak their conclusion into the question itself, or into a premise dressed up as obviously true.

In two minutes

A fallacy of presumption assumes, without proof, exactly what the argument was supposed to establish — through a circular premise, a loaded question, or an irrelevant fact treated as the real cause.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Logic – II on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.