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Begets the Question

Image result for gardening

The phrase "begs the question" has suffered of late from a great amount of abuse. In response, I'm going to be, as this photo suggests, a little gnomic.

I could go work on my garden. Someone observing me, could blog: "This begs the question, does he know which is  weed and which is a flower?"

This would disclose not only that I have querulous neighbors, but that at least one of them is ignorant of the vocabulary of logical fallacies, the domain whence comes the abused expression.

Proper use:  "It is obvious that I know which one is a weed, because I tug certain plants right out of the ground with gusto!" "That begs the question."

My hypothetical riposte is an effort to prove something by presuming what was to be proved. If someone suspected that I was tugging the wrong plants out of the ground, he wouldn't be persuaded otherwise by my reflection on my own gusto when I do so.

But let's get back to the misuse. I suggest that people who know the proper use of the expression, when encountering a misuse, should suggest "begets" as an alternative. It has that good old fashioned King James Bible resonance. It sounds a lot like "begs," so people may not feel rudely corrected.

And it would be fun to see if it catches on.

That begets the question: doesn't this ignorant gardener have a baroque sense of fun? 
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  1. HenryJune 4, 2019 at 8:37 PM

    Your blog may have some influence. A June 4 article in the Baltimore Sun states, "The proposal begets as many questions as it answers...." https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-young-baltimore-boxing-violence-20190603-story.html

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