History
The term was translated into English from Latin in the 16th century. The Latin version, petitio principii, can be interpreted in different ways. Petitio (from peto), in the post-classical context in which the phrase arose, means "assuming" or "postulating," but in the older classical sense means "petition," "request," or "beseeching." Principii, genitive of principium, means "beginning," "basis," or "premise" (of an argument). Literally petitio principii means "assuming the premise" or "assuming the original point," or, alternately, "a request for the beginning or premise;" that is, the premise depends on the truth of the very matter in question.
The Latin phrase comes from the Greek en archei aiteisthai in Aristotle's Prior Analytics II xvi:
Begging or assuming the point at issue consists (to take the expression in its widest sense) failing to demonstrate the required proposition. But there are several other ways in which this may happen; for example, if the argument has not taken syllogistic form at all, he may argue from premises which are less known or equally unknown, or he may establish the antecedent by means of its consequents; for demonstration proceeds from what is more certain and is prior. Now begging the question is none of these. If, however, the relation of B to C is such that they are identical, or that they are clearly convertible, or that one applies to the other, then he is begging the point at issue.... egging the question is proving what is not self-evident by means of itself...either because predicates which are identical belong to the same subject, or because the same predicate belongs to subjects which are identical.Thomas Fowler believed that Petitio Principii would be more properly called Petitio Quæsiti, which is literally "begging the question".
Read more about this topic: Begging The Question
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