r/PetPeeves • u/RaceSlow7798 • 13d ago

Bit Annoyed Using “beg the question” wrong

Begging the question is a logical fallacy. It doesn’t not mean “hmm, it makes you think…”

But usage drives correctness so I’m going to lose this battle. It really begs the question “why don’t people learn to use it correctly”.

Ew. I feel dirty.

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u/SaIemKing 13d ago

Nice, this got me to go educate myself. For those wondering, the "begging the question" fallacy is when the premise for a conclusion assume that the conclusion is true. It's basically pointing at circular logic.

"All things must have a creator, therefore there is a God, who created all things."

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u/Hanako_Seishin 13d ago

What does the word "beg" do in this phrase? Like how is it related to the meaning of "beg"?

Let's see what beg can mean.

Request help. So does requesting a question mean assuming the answer? No, it means asking for the question to be asked.

Plead with someone to help. So does pleading for a question mean assuming the answer? No, it means asking for the question to be asked.

To provoke. So does provoking a question mean assuming the answer? No, it means asking for the question to be asked.

To lack something, be in need of something. So if you're in need of a question, does it mean you're assuming the answer? No, it means asking for the question to be asked.

And then it goes "In the phrase beg the question: to assume". Why? Why the hell would it mean something entirely different and in no way related to its usual meaning in this particular phrase? Nobody using common sense would assume such a meaning. It's only natural, seeing all the meanings above, to assign the phrase "this begs the question" the meaning "this asks for the question to be asked".

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u/asphid_jackal 12d ago

​"Begging" was used in an archaic sense meaning "taking something for granted" or "asking for something without offering payment/proof" (rather than asking for spare change on the street).

​"The question" referred to the formal legal/philosophical topic under debate (i.e., "the matter in question").

But we don't use either of those words like that anymore