Begging the Question Usage

The cluster centers on debates about the correct meaning of 'begging the question' as a logical fallacy, versus its widespread misuse to mean 'raising the question', including praises for proper usage, corrections, and discussions on language evolution.

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#6540
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Keywords

e.g IMO stackexchange.com begthequestion.info webster.com grammarist.com i.e ycombinator.com worldwidewords.org wikipedia.org begs question begs question begging raises phrase english pedantic expression form

Sample Comments

jackfoxy Feb 1, 2012 View on HN

Kudos for using begging the question correctly, rather than the popular usage as another way of saying raising the question.

dllthomas Oct 14, 2020 View on HN

If we like the stress implied in "begging", I think we can replace (mis)use of the form "this begs the question: ..." with "this begs us to ask: ..."

enjo May 7, 2010 View on HN

+1 for proper use of 'begging the question' :)

pyre Aug 4, 2011 View on HN

It's more helpful just to say s/begs the question/raises the question/ In most cases, that's what is really meant.

marvy May 23, 2016 View on HN

I prefer to avoid the expression "beg the question" it's misused so often that you can't guess reliably which meaning the speaker intended, (or which meaning the reader will assume).

JeremyStein Mar 19, 2010 View on HN

Please don't write "begs the question" when you mean "raises the question". http://begthequestion.info/

seanp2k2 Mar 9, 2013 View on HN

Meh; it's just "begging the question" (the popular use of the phrase, not the pedantic "correct" use of the phrase [quotes because language evolves IMO] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question -- more info if you're interested)

jobeirne Jun 16, 2010 View on HN

You're not using ``begs the question'' properly.

picks_at_nits Dec 21, 2020 View on HN

+1 for the correct use of the phrase "begging the question."

scott_s Jul 8, 2009 View on HN

That's the actual meaning of the phrase "begging the question."