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http://begthequestion.info/

On a point of pedantry, it "raises the question", not "begs the question".

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http://begthequestion.info/ get it right, please.

Get it right. http://begthequestion.info/

Use it right.

[pedantic]
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Seriously, learn these things before trying to put them into practice.
[/pedantic]

Hey, if you're gonna ruin a joke, ruin it all the way.

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Begs the question doesn't it?

No, it doesn't!
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If life is just an evolved entity composed of randomly assembled machines, as some biologists claim, then it begs the question of wether or not there might be 'life' out there that is not water based, but based on say, sand -- or silicon.

That is not what "begs the question" means.
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It may raise the question, but it doesn't beg the question.

Modern usage of the term differs from historical "proper" usage. Language evolves. Deal with it. The fact that pedants have to continually re-state this is a good indicator that modern usage is more intuitive.

It may raise the question, but it doesn't beg the question.

No, it raises the question. Begging the question is quite different.

*casts fireward on himself*

It does NOT "beg the question"! It might RAISE the question (perhaps not even that), but it certainly does not claim that the question itself is evidence for its truth.

Kids these days!

Read: http://begthequestion.info/ (or just a frickin' dictionary).

Another thing you can do on most modern web enabled phones is look up phrases like Begs the Question and see what a fool you are making of yourself prior to posting on slashdot.

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Brought to you by the obligatory and gratuitous grammar snarks.

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That's begging the question. By definition, whatever humans do as a species is ipso facto *normal*. What is considered normal will change over time though.

Stop right there... http://begthequestion.info/

AC may not have given any details (or wiki), but using argumentum ad hominem isn't nice either.

You probably mean, "raises an interesting question".

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Nope, he's probably using it in the common usage of everyday language and not as a term of logical discourse. We all know what he means ...

You probably mean, "raises an interesting question". http://begthequestion.info/

"actually, it raises the question.
http://begthequestion.info/"

Or not.

If you read your cited pages it is *them* which effectively beg the question in case (from the very example: "I think he is unattractive because he is ugly." while, at the same time, all their argument it "it is wrong because it is not that way" instead of "it is wrong because it *can't* be your way").

The fact is that "begging the question" can be perfectly understood as a kind of affirmation that is crying for a question to be made so, for instance if someone says "He deserves winning the lotto, after all he is blond" obviously is begging for somebody asking "yeah, so what the hell has to be being blond and winning the lotto?". It begs a question as much as a polite gentelman will beg your pardon if needs your attention or an unpolite molester is begging a fist on his face.

So, surprise-surprise: an idiom can really mean more than one thing. Who'd imagine, uh?

actually, it raises the question.

http://begthequestion.info/

don't worry, you're in good company. the whole spectrum of major media get it wrong too, from NPR to Fox.

Which begs the question

No, it really, really doesn't.

Really.

http://begthequestion.info/ Windows 7 and Vista have lots of features, the problem is the average user does not ever see them. How do you sell ASLR and sandboxed browsing to joe football? Yet they are features, and damn good ones. There are countless others, but they do what a feature should do; they work and make things better and stay out of the users face while he/she does what's important.

Actually, it raises the question.

"...but it does beg the question:..."

Actually it doesn't. That phrase has a very specific meaning. Please see begthequestion.info for a detailed explanation.

I know it's lame of me to be a grammar nazi, and that not everyone is in agreement on this topic. But "begs the question" is a real pet peeve of mine and I don't like to see it misused. Please read this:

http://begthequestion.info/

I consider it very aggravating that the original meaning is being lost because a lot of newspaper and magazine writers think it makes them sound hip, the editors don't know to correct them, and the general public is being introduced to the phrase via a usage error. True, languages change. But this is a feedback loop of plain old bad English. A term that was very descriptive and useful for a once-philosophy-student like myself is becoming another silly trick people use to dress up their writing. Many people do not know about the correct usage, as it's basically philosophy jargon, but I hope you will not be one of those people who's so offended at being corrected that you declare "well it means something different now" and cromulently go about your day.

except... if the show constantly begs the question "what is Kara Thrace?"

"raises" or possible "asks"..not "begs" http://begthequestion.info/

arh! abuse of the term 'begs the question' http://begthequestion.info/

No, it doesn't "beg the question." It might raise the question, but it definitely doesn't beg the question.

http://begthequestion.info/

Get it right!

http://begthequestion.info/

That's not a bad site, but their explanation isn't as clear as it could be. One of the reasons there's confusion over the phrase is that it's difficult to see how a definition like one given there ("the initial assumption of a statement is treated as already proven without any logic to show why the statement is true in the first place") is literally what the phrase means.

Clarity is the reason why I'm a fan of the OED's definition:

to beg the question: to take for granted the matter in dispute, to assume without proof.

Here it's nice and clear that the meaning is in fact literally what the phrase says. No re-phrasing, no metaphor, no roundabout explanations.

This of course begs the question

Go ahead, mod me offtopic, but somebody has to do it.

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from the BTQ website: "While descriptivists and other such laissez-faire linguists are content to allow the misconception to fall into the vernacular, .."

Begs the question why nobody has ever called me "a hardcore descriptivist"! :P

This of course begs the question

Go ahead, mod me offtopic, but somebody has to do it. http://begthequestion.info/

introducing an assumption that gravity behaves differently outside a certain distance begs the question why it should be so,

No, it doesn't.

However, this begs the question,

No, it doesn't.

It begs the question;

No, it doesn't.

Which begs the question of, why do they need to call them to announce they are doing nothing?

It raises the question. Here is some more training for you.

No, he's making a statement.

For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares?"

This begs the question

No, it doesn't.

... your argument that assigning jail time to an action 'as socially innocuous as copying an MP3' appears to beg the question of ...

s/beg/raises/;

Of course, this also begs the question:

no, that simply raises the question. begging the question refers to a logical fallacy where one uses circular reasoning.
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I think it's pretty obvious that they're shooting themselves in the foot here, but I think this also begs the question: What defines internet access?

No, the question is, is our children learning? Your sentence makes no sense to people who know what "begs the question" means. You seem to think it means "raises the question", but it doesn't. Begging the question is making a circular statement to support an argument. The statement relies upon itself as proof. For example, the statement "Global warming is terrible because it's really bad" is begging the question.

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That's not how begging the question works. you meant to say something more along the lines of "raising the question."

Sorry to be an ass but I'm a philosophy major.

which begs the question, "did they trademark the sound of a broken down Harley being pushed?"

Actually, it raises the question.

Mind you, if ISO is so vulnerable this does beg the question 'is it still relevant?'

http://begthequestion.info/

"Begging the question" is a form of logical fallacy in which a statement or claim is assumed to be true without evidence other than the statement or claim itself. When one begs the question, the initial assumption of a statement is treated as already proven without any logic to show why the statement is true in the first place.

It does NOT mean to raise the question like you have used it.

If your children grow up to be philosophers they will thank me one day...

http://begthequestion.info/