Excerpt from the logic text book
I found this in my logic textbook-- it's pretty hilarious. He's talking about fallacies, and specifically just finished talking about the fallacy of "begging the question," in which an argument is made circular by making the conclusion one of the premises.
"Here is a point about usage: it has become trendy for news reporters to misuse the phrase "begs the question." For example, in a recent news broadcast, following an account of late-night vandalism by two ten-year-old children, the reporter observed, "Which begs the question 'Why were they wandering around outside, at that hour, without parental supervision?'" This is an incorrect use of the phrase, and one who speaks that way can only be viewed as an idiot-- I'm sure you will avoid such mistakes in the future."
It made me laugh, so I thought I'd share it.
(On a side note, I'm fairly sure this is also a fallacy, an appeal to emotion, or something similar. It's still hilarious, though.)
"Here is a point about usage: it has become trendy for news reporters to misuse the phrase "begs the question." For example, in a recent news broadcast, following an account of late-night vandalism by two ten-year-old children, the reporter observed, "Which begs the question 'Why were they wandering around outside, at that hour, without parental supervision?'" This is an incorrect use of the phrase, and one who speaks that way can only be viewed as an idiot-- I'm sure you will avoid such mistakes in the future."
It made me laugh, so I thought I'd share it.
(On a side note, I'm fairly sure this is also a fallacy, an appeal to emotion, or something similar. It's still hilarious, though.)