Ciaran McCreesh posted <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, excerpted below, on Wed, 04 Jan 2006 12:34:42 +0000:
> On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 05:26:44 -0700 Duncan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > | That begs the question... > > No it doesn't. > > http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/begs.html Forget formal logic, it still "begs the question", in that it "begs that the question be asked". IOW, a narrowly constructed answer was /too/ narrow -- it didn't answer a follow-on question that logically follows from the answer as given. Thus, it "begs" that the follow-on question be asked. You (and the above link) are using "beg" in the sense of [1913 Webster] definition 4: "To take for granted; to assume without proof." If that definition fails to make sense (as it does) in context, look to the other definitions. "Beg" in the sense of [1913 Webster] definition 3 makes perfect sense in context: "To make petition to; to entreat; as, to beg a person to grant a favor", or definition 1: "To ask earnestly for; to entreat or supplicate for; to beseech." It also mentions that it may imply deference or respect, rather than earnestness. I should also mention that it has a specfic sub-entry for "To beg the question", which does indeed invoke the definition four usage as you and the above link did. However, that's not the only meaning of beg, tho it may have been the common meaning in the context of "begging the question" at that time. Therefore, while "to beg the question" as used here doesn't work in the "assume that which was to be proved" sense, it works quite well in the "causes a follow-up question to be asked with earnestness and/or respect" sense. Wordnet has a more modern definition that leaves out the "proof" concept entirely. Beg: 1: "Call upon in supplication; entreat [...] [syn: implore, pray]." 2: "Make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently [...] [syn: solicit, tap]." (The third definition is "ask to obtain free; "beg money and food", but that doesn't really apply to either usage under discussion. There is no fourth definition, so no "proof" concept in the modern Wordnet definition at all.) So... tho your definition fit with the usage in 1913, it doesn't appear to fit with modern usage nearly a century later. Even in 1913, however, one couldn't properly say my usage was entirely incorrect, given the other definitions for the word "beg". The definitions above courtesy of kdict, KDE's desktop dictionary protocol applet, with its default source of dict.org. -- Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs. "Every nonfree program has a lord, a master -- and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman in http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/12/22/rms_interview.html -- gentoo-dev@gentoo.org mailing list
