Critics of Freudian theory should get themselves psychoanalyzed because opposition to the theory is itself caused by unconscious resistance arising from the Dedipal complex. Which according to Freud distorts one's thinking." Which logical fallacy is committed in the above argument?
Correct Answer :
Begging the Question
Solution :
The correct option is Begging the Question.
Begging the question is a logical fallacy in which the premise of an argument assumes the truth of the conclusion it is trying to prove. Instead of providing independent evidence or justification for the claim, the argument simply restates the conclusion in a different way or relies on the truth of the claim itself within the premise.
In the given argument, the claim is that Freudian theory is true, and therefore, critics of Freudian theory must be wrong. The reason provided for why the critics are wrong is that their opposition is caused by "unconscious resistance arising from the Oedipal complex." However, the Oedipal complex and the concept of unconscious resistance are themselves core components of Freudian theory.
By using a concept from Freudian theory (the Oedipal complex causing resistance) to explain away and invalidate the criticism of Freudian theory, the argument pre-supposes that Freudian theory is already correct. It uses the theory to prove the theory, which is a classic circular reasoning loop, thereby committing the fallacy of begging the question.
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