"Begs the question"

[sagehen]

"Begs (begging) the question" is heard on every hand nowadays, apparently
intending a classier version of "raises (raising) the question...".  I was
pleasantly surprised to run across a recent use (in David Ray Griffin's
/The  9/11 Commission Report: Omissions & Distortions/)  recalling its
--er, harrumph -- classic meaning of making a mere theorem axiomatic.  This
is so rare in public discourse that I wanted to memorialize it here.
"But  it appears to have provided this support by simply ignoring all
evidence to the contrary or dismissing any such evidence on the basis of
the Commission's unquestioned and unquestionable assumption, thereby
begging the question." (op. cit. p 58)
AM


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W stands for >:<  War ____Waste___Wiretaps____Witchhunts  >:<
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