(Untitled)

[citizengwen]

while i was working my ass off at the gym tonight, i watched Paula Deen take a cold/solid piece of macaroni and cheese, wrap bacon around it, dip it in flour, egg and crumbled crackers and then deep fry it.

which begs the question: what the hell is wrong with southern people?

Comments

[wiseacre]

"Begging the question" is a particular type of logical fallacy. It is used to describe a circular argument that assumes as true the point which is meant to be proven.

An example would be:

The point to be proven is the existence of the Christian God:

a: Only a being with God's power could have created the entire Universe

b: The entire Universe exists

c: Therefore God exists

This is begging the question because (a) assumes that there is an all-powerful creator of the Universe i.e. God. The terms of the logical argument you are using to prove the existence of God already assume His existence. The argument is logically valid, but seen as a cheat by logicians.

Another, everyday example we have seen recently is :

a) The Patriot Act and related measures were instituted to keep the USA safe from terrorists.

b)There has not been a major terrorist attack in the USA since Septemeber 11, 2001

c) Curtailing civil rights prevents terrorist attacks

This begs the question because the Patriot Act and it's related measures curtail civil rights and premise (a) assumes conclusion (c) and conclusion (c) uses premise (a) as its proof.

Here is a good link that explains it a bit better than I do.

http://skepdic.com/begging.html

Now "raising the question" or "inspiring the question" or such is what you mean. You have doubtless heard "beg the question" used incorrectly on TV, radio, and in the newspaper, so I understand how you came to think it is a synonym. It's a common mistake. Many people will never notice that you've made a mistake because they don't know any better, but to the educated, it will make you look like a boob who is trying to sound smarter than she is by using words she doesn't really understand. It's an easy mistake to make, one I made for years too.

As a PR professional this can be of use to you. You (or your media training people) should definitely advise your clients to never use "beg the question" when being interviewed (unless they use it properly) because it will make them look as ignorant as if they had used "irregardless."