“Begging the question” Correction

My post, Sir, that is not quite what I said, contains an error in usage of which two readers have kindly informed me. It seems “begging the question” does not mean what I (and I think many others) have long-believed it to mean.

I wrote:

For all Boehlert’s angry writing, this fact remains: The AP has reported that multiple mosques were burned down and multiple human beings were burned alive. Within the report, they quoted a source they’ve used often – so often that a blogger noticed and said, “hmmm, who is this guy, is he legit?” And that begged other questions. If four mosques were burned, why are there no pictures of them? It Captain Jamil Hussein is a ready source of information why is this ubiquitous and apparently terrain-familiar fellow so hard to find? If six people were burned alive, where are the families keening for the cameras, or at least speaking to the press?

And that begs other questions, too.

Ugh! Enough! Smart people the world over are cringing! I apologize, cite my terrible years within a poor state school system, and give the floor over to readers Alan and S, who have set me to rights.

From Alan: Like many on both the left and the right, your are misusing the phrase “begs the question” in your post about this whole Iraq thing today. To beg the question does not mean that one fact or question leads to another question. Begging the question defines an argument in which its premises contain the conclusion…Please try not to make the error again, or I may be forced to question whether you and other Warbloggers have ever used any word correctly!

Alan helpfully supplies a link to wikipedia which further expounds upon the usage of “begging the question” and makes me feel both amused and well-admonished.

Begging the question in logic, also known as circular reasoning and by the Latin name petitio principii, is an informal fallacy found in many attempts at logical arguments. An argument which begs the question is one in which a premise presupposes the conclusion in some way. Such an argument is valid in the sense in which logicians use that term, yet provides no reason at all to believe its conclusion.

Today, the phrase is also frequently seen in a different usage with the meaning “raise the question”. In academic contexts this use is rare and widely regarded as incorrect, but it has nevertheless become very common in the news media.

Reader S – a less formal sort of chap – writes:

The classic [example] is “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?”

He asked me to please be careful not to use “begging the question” incorrectly as the phrase is “too cool in its original, eccentric place.”

Well, I am all for things being both cool and eccentric – particularly words and phrases, and so I hereby promise never, never to use the phrase “begs the question” when I mean “raises the question.” Peace. It’s wonderful! :-)

Joking aside, I am always happy to learn new things and to be corrected when I’ve made such an error. I’ll link this correction into the original piece while I fix the phrase!

You know, I just bought this book for my Elder Son, (a wordsmith and grammarian) for Christmas…perhaps instead of wrapping it I should have read it, first! :-)

Thank you, gents, for the lesson!