I’m fairly nonplussed at what has happened to “begging the question” - its usage now is an inversion of its original philosophical meaning as a form of fallacy. It’s common usage is a way of saying “the question arises”.

I take objection to the characterization of "begging the question" having a changed/incorrect meaning. I assert that the "original philosophical meaning" is the fad idiom, and the common usage is a true parsing of the words unrelated to the idiom.

"This begs the question of why X Y Z" is just a shortening of "this [thing you said] begs [that] the question [be asked] of why X Y Z".

I think the only reason there's any discussion about it at all is because the sorts of people who are likely to use the idiom of "begging the question" with regard to logic, are the sort of people who enjoy being pedantic about other people's language, and this presents an opportunity to do so.

You could say I'm plussed about the whole thing. It brings up a whelming amount of emotion in me.

You see a lot of this kind of thing: "spiders aren't bugs", "whales aren't fish", "strawberries aren't berries"—no, words mean things, unfortunately, even if that's a little inconvenient for taxonomers!

> "spiders aren't bugs"

This one is particularly egregious, because they literally are.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bug

They may not be insects, but non-insect arthropods are included in the definition of "bug".

You might be correct, but it begs the question: where are your citations for that?

You would like a citation that people with an interest in rhetoric and logic tend to be pedantic and more likely to correct others if they see an opportunity to do so? I cite the comment section of https://news.ycombinator.com/news

I sanction this comment.

> original philosophical meaning

It was a stupid translation, so I don't mind people retaking the words for their actual meaning.

Begging the question, he will continue to do nothing.

I bet he could care less.

Irregardless of begging, they should of been less of a lose cannon with they’re word’s

For all intensive purposes.

This is a moot point that should be tabled.

We'll circle back to that later for readdress.

The issue is unpresidented.

The MCM architecture of the chip can be recognized by the multiple dice beneath the heat spreader.

Please - I can't breath!

Yes, we were not pre-prepared for it.

I've begun borrowing "it's a moo point" from Friends, in some conversations. "It's like a cow's opinion, you know: It doesn't matter. It's moo!"

What a way to wreck havoc.

I feel like I've been hit by a lose cannon all my life.

As per prior behavior, the poster’s actions against this will be comprised of nothing.

Hopefully, some of the people in this thread understood what you were doing there.

Some men just want to watch the dictionary burn

Not burn, expand. New usages for words make the dictionary bigger.

That's something only a villain would say.

Explaining the joke:

"Begging the question" is an expression that properly means "assuming the conclusion," i.e. circular reasoning.

However, the comment above deliberately uses the incorrect meaning "raising the question."

Good explanation except for the words "proper" and "incorrect".

The irony is that we can't be sure of that, since "proper" and "incorrect" may mean something else.

Could of, would of, should of.