4 ms·

> The mere title (but the article as well) begs the question I don't think that that phrase means what you think it means http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging

by tjic 17y ago

> The mere title (but the article as well) begs the question I don't think that that phrase means what you think it means http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question

camccann 17y ago
I don't know, that was a more valid use than most. The question "Is X in category Y?" implicitly assumes, among other things, that X exists and that Y is a valid category. If the validity of category Y is not established, then to argue whether something is or is not in Y is not too far from begging the question of Y's validity.
- skmurphy 17y ago
  Entrepreneurship is not a synonym for management science. Asking if it is equivalent or a member of the set of "management sciences" does not "beg the question." If by "the validity of category Y is not established" you mean that the validity of management science is not established I think you are ignoring a body of work dating to the 1940's in applying mathematics to decision making. Disciplines like industrial engineering or operations research are normally considered members of the set of management science. They substitute decision making based on models and simulation for naive methods based on intuition and rules of thumb. Examples would include inventory control theory, queueing theory, game theory, decision analysis,... See for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_science http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_science and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research
jbarciauskas 17y ago
It wouldn't be the Internet if someone didn't bring this up. As far as absuses of the phrase go, I say that this is a fine instance of "assuming of the premise", as opposed to the common misuse, which is as a synonym for "raises the question". One article regarding the phrase states, "One of the most common fallacies of assumption is called begging the question. Here the arguer assumes what he should be proving." The arguer here assumes that there is a science to management in his argument that entrepreneurship is potentially an application of management science. However, I contend that the arguer's assumption is misplaced and first the arguer should be proving that the scientific method is applicable to management in the first place. You can argue that I am misapplying the phrase, but I certainly understand what it means and used it based on the above understanding. Furthermore, I don't think my attempt at communication failed: I am fairly certain you and every other reader of my comment understood the point I was making, which is ultimately the goal of the written word, no?

by tjic 17y ago

camccann 17y ago

I don't know, that was a more valid use than most. The question "Is X in category Y?" implicitly assumes, among other things, that X exists and that Y is a valid category. If the validity of category Y is not established, then to argue whether something is or is not in Y is not too far from begging the question of Y's validity.

skmurphy 17y ago
Entrepreneurship is not a synonym for management science. Asking if it is equivalent or a member of the set of "management sciences" does not "beg the question." If by "the validity of category Y is not established" you mean that the validity of management science is not established I think you are ignoring a body of work dating to the 1940's in applying mathematics to decision making. Disciplines like industrial engineering or operations research are normally considered members of the set of management science. They substitute decision making based on models and simulation for naive methods based on intuition and rules of thumb. Examples would include inventory control theory, queueing theory, game theory, decision analysis,... See for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_science http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_science and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research

jbarciauskas 17y ago

It wouldn't be the Internet if someone didn't bring this up. As far as absuses of the phrase go, I say that this is a fine instance of "assuming of the premise", as opposed to the common misuse, which is as a synonym for "raises the question". One article regarding the phrase states, "One of the most common fallacies of assumption is called begging the question. Here the arguer assumes what he should be proving." The arguer here assumes that there is a science to management in his argument that entrepreneurship is potentially an application of management science. However, I contend that the arguer's assumption is misplaced and first the arguer should be proving that the scientific method is applicable to management in the first place. You can argue that I am misapplying the phrase, but I certainly understand what it means and used it based on the above understanding. Furthermore, I don't think my attempt at communication failed: I am fairly certain you and every other reader of my comment understood the point I was making, which is ultimately the goal of the written word, no?