Re: USAGE: -ic(al) Re: [CONLANG] Most developed conlang

On 5/2/07, Ph.D. <phil@...> wrote:
> "Begging the question" is an error in logical reasoning,
> meaning that one's reasoning has circled around to now
> include the original premise he was trying to prove.
> "The earth is round because of A. A is true because of
> B. B is true because of C. C is true because the earth
> is round." I'm begging the question.
I learned it slightly differently.   Begging the question is
responding to a question with an assertion that just changes the
context of the original question without really answering it.

For instance, if you say the Earth is flat and not suspended in space,
and someone asks "Ok, so what's it resting on?", you might reply with
"The back of a giant turtle." That appears to answer the question, but
in reality it's just pushes the question back one level to "What's the
turtle resting on?" That's begging the question. (Of course, we know
it's turtles all the way down. :))

Who created the universe?  "God."  OK, but that's begging the question
- who created God?  You can, of course, get into the theology of the
uncreated/creatorless Creator at this point, but until you do, you
haven't answered the question.

I think it's easier to see how my interpretation generalizes to the
use seen in your "What were you doing in the speakeasy?" example...

Circular reasoning, on the other hand, is a more general phenomenon,
and I just call it circular reasoning.  Begging the question is a form
of it, I suppose, but it's a very tight circle. :)

--
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>

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