From a newspaper article: “The question begs: Why go crazy celebrating a victory in late May like it was October?” Journalists, please! Don’t use, or draw from, “beg the question” unless you know what it means. Leave it alone! “Beg the question” is not synonymous with “raise the question.” And “the question begs” is way wrong, even if viewed idiomatically.
The “beg” of the phrase is not someone saying “Please?” The “question” of this phrase is not “May I have a word?” or the like. “Begging the question” is a term of logic, from “petitio principii,” which is Latin for “assuming the original issue.” “Wikipedia” interprets this as “a request [petitio] for the beginning, or premise [principii]” of a point stated.
If I say, “You’re begging the question,” it means “Your premise depends on the truth of the matter in point.” Thus, “question” means, in essence, issue, in the debate sense; no interrogative sentence is involved.
Aristotle wrote of petitio principii in 350 B.C.E., so it’s ancient. The foregoing sentence does not beg the question. Insert “well-known” for “ancient,” and it does beg the question. That something’s old doesn’t mean it’s well known. But dating something from B.C.E. qualifies it as ancient.
“It’s ancient; therefore, it must be pretty old” begs the question in a different sense. Begging the question also occurs when one offers proof that, on examination, is but a restated version of the initial point or involves a premise that itself needs proof.
Linguists hope this phrase does not go the way of “apropos” (30 years ago it did not mean “appropriate” but, through misuse, now does). It’s on track to do that, though, as talking heads misuse it, especially in sports journalism.
“The Colts have lost 10 games, begging the question: Does Manning’s injury cause other players to lose confidence?” Insert “raising” for “begging” and the sentence is fine. As it stands, it’s wrong.
“The question begs: With Manning out for the season, will the Colts win even one game?” is doubly wrong. Ironically, the latter convention, if we may call it that, evolved from “the question begs to be asked,” which someone coined to “correct” the former.
Remember, non-interrogative statements beg the question. E.g.:
“If it wasn’t illegal, it wouldn’t be prohibited.”
“You can trust Hillary, because I’ve known her all her life.”
“This is bad because the sheriff said not to do it.”
My favorite example is from “Newhart.” Dick Loudin, host of “Vermont Today,” offers a prize for the world’s smallest horse. One of the locals brings in a tiny equine specimen. Loudin asks, “How do you know he’s the world’s smallest horse?”
The owner replies, “Look at him!” That assumes the original point, without proving it. It seems to offer proof that, on analysis, is no proof at all, because the validity of the method (looking at the horse) is itself not proved. The horse owner begged the question in spades!
Vic Fleming is a district court judge in Little Rock, Ark., where he also teaches at the William H. Bowen School of Law. Contact him at vicfleming@att.net.