Sir, – The headline above your editorial of May 10th on air defence was “Secret memo begs questions”.
For sure the memo raises or prompts questions but I doubt it begs those questions, at least not in the original meaning of the phrase.
To beg a question is to assume in your argument the truth of the proposition you are trying to prove. In other words it is a circular argument, such as: “I am always right therefore you are wrong.”
I do realise that in current usage to “beg a question” is often intended to mean no more than to raise or prompt a question. What a pity to lose the elegant subtlety of the original meaning. – Yours, etc,
READ MORE
Clairo at 3Olympia: Whispery vocals and piano licks make a seamless transition from bedroom to jazz club
My aged mother’s health is declining quickly. Should we prepare her home for sale?
‘Where I come from, people don’t do medicine. It’s not on your radar’: how a new generation of doctors is being trained
Pancake Tuesday: What’s the history, what does ‘shrove’ mean and what’s the significance for single people?
HUGH LAVERY,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
