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What does it mean to presuppose?
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:14 am
by soyeonjeon
I was working on prep test 15, section 2, number 20 and
was wondering what does presuppose mean?
It seems different from "assume."
Thanks.
Re: What does it mean to presuppose?
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 3:19 am
by Davidbentley
To think or believe (something) in advance of actual knowledge or experience.
Re: What does it mean to presuppose?
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 3:26 am
by Cerebro
soyeonjeon wrote:I was working on prep test 15, section 2, number 20 and
was wondering what does presuppose mean?
It seems different from "assume."
Thanks.
It just means to take for granted or to treat it as true. Assume, presume, and presuppose are synonymous. In this particular question, (A) describes circular reasoning.
If only true poets can recognize poetic creativity, then S.R. Evans, in making a judgment about his (or her) critics, presupposes that he is a poet (how else could he recognize poetic creativity?). Thus, in dismissing this criticism, he is taking for granted what he set out to prove: namely, that he is himself a poet.