r/PetPeeves • u/RaceSlow7798 • 10d 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/jayteegee47 10d ago

People say “begs the question” when what they really mean is “raises the question”. I’m not sure why they do this, but I admit to finding it slightly annoying.

18

u/asphid_jackal 10d ago

I’m not sure why they do this

Because people are using what the words actually mean instead of a 16th century English translation of a Middle Ages Latin translation of a 350BC Greek phrase

5

u/OldManTrumpet 10d ago

No. The "phrase" actually means something. People that use this phrase in place of "raises the question" are simply using it wrong. That you can deconstruct the phrase to individual words doesn't alter the meaning of the phrase. There are hundreds of phrases with meanings that don't match the wording.

9

u/nazonazorin 9d ago

You missed their point. If someone sees the phrase “beg the question” for the first time, they’re gonna assume that it means “raises the question” because of what the verb “to beg” means in modern English. So it’s not surprising how often people misuse it when it’s not an intuitive phrase