what does it mean to "beg the question" ?

Answer 1

"Begging the question" is a form of logical fallacy in which an argument is assumed to be true without evidence other than the argument itself. When one begs the question, the initial assumption of a statement is treated as already proven without any logic to show why the statement is true in the first place.

A simple example would be "I think he is unattractive because he is ugly." The adjective "ugly" does not explain why the subject is "unattractive" -- they virtually amount to the same subjective meaning, and the proof is merely a restatement of the premise. The sentence has begged the question

To beg the question does not mean "to raise the question." (e.g. "It begs the question, why is he so dumb?") This is a common error of usage made by those who mistake the word "question" in the phrase to refer to a literal question. Sadly, the error has grown more and more ubiquitous common with time, such that even journalists, advertisers, and major mass media entities have fallen prey to "BTQ Abuse."

While descriptivists and other such laissez-faire linguists are content to allow the misconception to fall into the vernacular, it cannot be denied that logic and philosophy stand to lose an important conceptual label should the meaning of BTQ become diluted to the point that we must constantly distinguish between the traditional usage and the erroneous "modern" usage. This is why we fight.

Answer 2

It's one of the most misused expressions in modern English.

People WRONGLY use it to mean "raise the question", i.e. "His interference begged the question of why he was there in the first place." Again, this is the wrong usage.

It ACTUALLY means "to presuppose a desired conclusion as a premise to your argument". For instance, if you ask me to prove that tall people make better athletes, and I say:
"1) Tall people do better at sports. Therefore
2) Tall people make better athletes."
I have assumed the thing I was supposed to be proving. I have "begged the question".

Answer 3

Not sure.