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Following the derail a little further...while you got my vote for the pedantipoint, the misuse of "beg the question" is so pervasive that I've given up. It mean
by ivey 17y ago
Following the derail a little further...while you got my vote for the pedantipoint, the misuse of "beg the question" is so pervasive that I've given up. It means what people use it to mean, now. We probably need a new name for the logical fallacy, unless lumping it into circular reasoning is sufficient.
- vidarh 17y agoEnglish is my second language, and until a few years ago I wasn't even aware of the original usage, while I'd seen the "misuse" on a regular basis. I don't think I've actually ever seen it used in the original usage "in the wild", as opposed to in the posts of pedants complaining about people using it wrongly.
- ars 17y agoI once told people the correct definition of "begs", and they refused to believe me, and thought I was wrong. To them begs means: raises a very obvious question. So it's over, "begs" has a new meaning, and complaining about it is pointless.
- philwelch 17y agoIt's because the original usage is rather technical--I've only seen philosophers use it, and only then as the adjective "question-begging".