beg the question

beg the question :

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beg the question

raise a point that has not been dealt with

invite an obvious question

assume the truth of an argument or of a proposition to be proved, without arguing it.

The original meaning of the phrase beg the question belongs to the field of logic and is a translation of Latin petitio principii, literally meaning laying claim to a principle, assume the truth of something that ought to be proved first. For many traditionalists this remains the only correct meaning, but far commoner in English today is the first sense here, 'invite an obvious question'.

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