this begs the question of

[alpacinou]

Hello

I want to suggest that the outbreak of this virus creates fundamental questions for some people. Can I use "begs the question"?

When you think about it and when you cogitate about this latest outbreak and how it has claimed so many lives, it begs some fundamental questions like why is nature doing this and where is this coming from.

If not, what is an expression which means "give rise to questions" or "create questions in your mind"?

P.S: Have I used cogitate correctly?

 

[emsr2d2]

You could have used "begs the question" but you didn't. You used "begs some fundamental questions".

Saying "think about" and "cogitate" is verging on tautologous. Also, "cogitate" means "think deeply about" so you don't need "about" after it.

He cogitated the meaning of life. :tick:
He cogitated about the meaning of life. :cross:

 

[SoothingDave]

You should not use "begs the question" like this, no matter how may native speakers do, because that isn't what the phrase means.

It does not mean the same as "raises the question." "Begging the question" is a logical fallacy in which the thing one is trying to prove is assumed as true and used in the argument.

https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Begging-the-Question

 

[alpacinou]

You could have used "begs the question" but you didn't. You used "begs some fundamental questions".

Saying "think about" and "cogitate" is verging on tautologous. Also, "cogitate" means "think deeply about" so you don't need "about" after it.

He cogitated the meaning of life. :tick:
He cogitated about the meaning of life. :cross:

I see. I saw "cogitate about" in a dictionary:
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/cogitate

So, do you think this works?

When you cogitate this latest outbreak and how it has claimed so many lives, it begs the question of why nature is doing this and where is this coming from.

Can't I say "it begs the fundamental question of" ?

 

[Twist]

How about: broaches the question?

 

[alpacinou]

You should not use "begs the question" like this, no matter how may native speakers do, because that isn't what the phrase means.

It does not mean the same as "raises the question." "Begging the question" is a logical fallacy in which the thing one is trying to prove is assumed as true and used in the argument.

https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Begging-the-Question

Is this okay in your opinion?

When you cogitate this latest outbreak and how it has claimed so many lives, it raises some fundamental questions such as why nature is doing this and where is this coming from.

Can you think of an alternative for "raises the questions"?

 

[SoothingDave]

Forget about "cogitate." Use "think about." And there's nothing wrong with "raises some fundamental questions."

 

[GoesStation]

Have I used cogitate correctly?

Cogitate: three syllables
Think: one syllable. There's no reason to waste all that breath.

 

[GoesStation]

"Begging the question" is a logical fallacy in which the thing one is trying to prove is assumed as true and used in the argument.

While that's true for the few people who understand it, "begs the question" has, for better or worse, entered the general vocabulary as a shorter way to say "demands that the following question be asked". I wouldn't advise anyone to use it that way, but it's futile to deny that that's its most common meaning.

 

[jutfrank]

This is my advice, based on my own preferences:

1) Absolutely do not use begs some questions. It's just not right. It's a confusion of the phrase to beg the question, which has a very different and very specific meaning. (See post #3.)

2) The very best verb to use is raises some questions. You'd be foolish not to use the best possible word.

3) Don't use cogitate about. That's poor use of vocabulary. If you must use cogitate at all, and if you must follow it with a preposition phrase, head the phrase with on.

4) You need to work on the way you've written the questions. Do you want to present these in the interrogative form or not?

 

[GoesStation]

Is this okay in your opinion?

When you cogitate this latest outbreak and how it has claimed so many lives, it raises some fundamental questions such as why nature is doing this and where is this coming from.

Can you think of an alternative for "raises the questions"?

"Cogitate" is intransitive. You can't cogitate anything -- and there's really no reason to use the word when a shorter synonym is available. If you raise questions, you have to frame them in interrogative form. I've marked two errors in red.

 

[SoothingDave]

While that's true for the few people who understand it, "begs the question" has, for better or worse, entered the general vocabulary as a shorter way to say "demands that the following question be asked". I wouldn't advise anyone to use it that way, but it's futile to deny that that's its most common meaning.

I will die on this hill.

 

[Twist]

Does *broaches the question* work or not?

 

[GoesStation]

Does "broaches the question" work or not?

Just say raises the question. "Broach" is another word whose meaning eludes many people. It's generally better to avoid it.

 

[Twist]

Where'd my comment go?

 

[alpacinou]

I will die on this hill.

I like this idiom. Is it common or is it old-fashioned?

 

[jutfrank]

While that's true for the few people who understand it, "begs the question" has, for better or worse, entered the general vocabulary as a shorter way to say "demands that the following question be asked". I wouldn't advise anyone to use it that way, but it's futile to deny that that's its most common meaning.

I so badly want that to be wrong that I'm ready to try and disagree. ;-)

the first dictionary I checked gave the first definition as:

beg the question
1: to elicit a question logically as a reaction or response

I'd argue that this is not really a definition, and even if it is, it's based on a misuse of the technical term 'begging the question'. I'll also point out that certain dictionaries prefer to list the original definition as the first of their entries headed under beg the question.

Collins, quite wisely, deems it fit to add a usage warning:

PHRASE If you say that something begs a particular question, you mean that it makes people want to ask that question; some people consider that this use is incorrect.


I'll also argue that the original sense of the term is much more widespread than people may think—most noticeably in academic texts. See the BNC here, where of the 14 listings for beg the question, half (if I'm counting accurately) use the original sense.

Finally, this (!) from the Usage Notes of Merriam-Webster:

There's a segment of the population that would be enormously relieved if phrases like a question that begs an answer replaced the usual begs the question uses. These are people who think using beg the question to mean "to cause someone to ask a specified question as a reaction or response" is completely and thoroughly wrong. There are probably more of these people than you think, and they are judging the rest of us.

Right, I'm ready to die on my hill now. Move over, SoothingDave!

 

[Rover_KE]

How about: broaches the question?

Twist, please read the following extract from the forum's Posting Guidelines:

"You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly in your post. Please note, all posts are moderated by our in-house language experts, so make sure your suggestions, help, and advice provide the kind of information an international language teacher would offer. If not, and your posts do not contribute to the topic in a positive way, they will be subject to deletion."

Does "broaches the question" work or not?

Please don't use asterisks to replace quotation marks.

Where did my comment go?

The moderator deleted it for the reason given.

 

[GoesStation]

Where'd my comment go?

If you're referring to the message that said "Thanks, dude", I deleted it with this note: The gratitude is appreciated, but we prefer that you just click "Thank". It's more efficient.

Every time a message is added to a thread in a forum we're watching, we moderators open it to see if it needs a response. This takes maybe twenty or thirty seconds, and we'd prefer to spend that time on messages that need attention. When you click "Thank", the title of the message you click on appears in our Notifications. Opening and closing it from there is a lot faster.

I wish there was a less drastic way to manage this, but we can only work with what the forum software provides. No hard feelings, I hope!

 

[jutfrank]

That's impressive:

(I don't agree with that, so) it's not a definition,
Even if it is a definition, it's based on a misuse of the technical term (in my opinion, so even though it's in a normally reliable dictionary, we can ignore it)
Other dictionaries put the original meaning first (which is wonderful, because it's the only one I accept, and it shows how bad M-W must be).
Collins adds a warning that some people consider the non-original meaning incorrect (as I do, so I am glad Collins proves me right).
I'd argue that the original sense of the term is much more widespread than people may think, most noticeably in academic texts (which most people don't read, but such people are ignorant, and so we can ignore their opinions. ).
Of the 14 listings at BNC, half use the original sense (which suggests that half don't, so we'll ignore that).

I'm not sure what spirit to read this post in.

Plus, I'd appreciate if you didn't unfairly put words in my mouth, especially when you've apparently misunderstood every single one of my comments, and my intention for writing the post. Never mind.

(GoesStation—if it's not obvious to you, I agree with you—no one here is denying it's the most common meaning.)