kimw57•1mo ago

Question about why everyone misuses 'begs the question'

I saw three posts this week where people used 'begs the question' to mean 'raises the question', and it drives me nuts. It actually means assuming the thing you're trying to prove, like saying 'that movie is bad because it's terrible'. I only figured this out after a philosophy class in 2019 at City College, and once you see it, you can't unsee it. The mix-up matters because it changes what you're actually arguing, especially in those Reddit debates that go 40 comments deep. Has anyone else noticed this creeping into everyday talk, or am I just the grammar police here?

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hannahcraig1mo ago

maybe it's just me but i think the real issue is that we've lost the ability to call out sloppy logic without sounding like a jerk. like when someone says "you can't trust the news because they're biased" that's actually begging the question about whether the news is biased, but nobody wants to stop and unpack that in a group chat. i noticed this especially with politicians and influencers who use it as a shutdown move, like "the economy is bad because people feel it's bad," which is circular but sounds deep. so yeah, the word misuse bugs me too, but maybe the deeper problem is we're all just tired and taking shortcuts. it's way easier to correct the phrase than to untangle why people reach for it in the first place.

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