Paul,

'To beg the question' is a term of art from rhetoric and philosophy.  It
means to make a claim while blatantly ignoring an essential and well-known
objection to what one is saying.  The metaphor, therefore, is appropriate,
for one is unknowingly inviting a member of one's audience to point out the
deficiency in one's argument -- of course, one might also, deceitfully, be
concealing the obvious objection from a naive audience.

To beg the question also ignores one of the main requirements of a good
argument, that is, always to deal with the obvious objections to what one is
claiming;  Isocrates, a Greek rhetorician, likened it to a situation in a
battle when one side attacks some unimportant part of the enemy's army while
being blind to his central attack.  And there is the apocryphal Chinese
advice:  always send three quarters of your speech on what one's opponent
has said against your position.


Edmond   


Dr. Edmond Wright
3 Boathouse Court
Trafalgar Road
Cambridge
CB4 1DU
England

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