beg the question

Verb

beg the question (third-person singular simple present begs the question, present participle begging the question, simple past and past participle begged the question)

1. To engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii).
   • The objection is that the argument begs the question, meaning that the premise, that God has all the virtues, assumes the conclusion, that God is benevolent.1994, D. N. Walton, “Begging the question as a pragmatic fallacy.”, in Synthese, volume 100, number 1
2. To sidestep or fail to address a question.
   • However I hope we shall do better as we go on and as long as there's no dodging or begging the question on our side, I'm not afraid.1860, Henry Adams, letter, 6 May
3. (proscribed, sometimes) To raise or prompt a question.
   • Three people were hurt in the fire at the warehouse last night, which begs the question: what were they doing there in the first place?
   • Invariably, the principal object is to improve air quality. But those constraints beg the question: why has no city followed Nottingham's example of a workplace parking levy, which has generated about £10 million a year to finance the city's tram system?2024 March 6, Steve Edwards discusses with Anthony Lambert, “The bedrock of urban renewal”, in RAIL, number 1004, page 35