Card 10 of 24 · Presumption
Plurium interrogationum
Planting a tree inside the question.
The question contains an assumption you haven’t agreed to.
Example
“Have you stopped ignoring local environmental concerns?”
Any answer seems to admit the accusation.
“Of many questions” — the complex question. Aristotle lists it among the fallacies “outside language” in Sophistical Refutations.
Diagnosis: One question bundles two propositions. Answering the visible one forces assent to the hidden one, which was never argued.
“Why does God allow pointless suffering?” This presupposes that some suffering is pointless — the very claim at stake in the evidential problem of evil.
“When did the church start corrupting the Gospels?” It assumes corruption occurred; textual criticism must establish that first.
“Why is your God so angry?” It assumes a particular picture of divine wrath that many theologians would describe very differently.
Trail recovery
Unbundle the question. Acknowledge what you can answer, name the presupposition, and address it directly. In papers, check your research questions for hidden premises.
Try saying: “I think there are two questions there — can we take the assumption first?”
Keep questioning. Keep exploring.