Exactly! How you define these things is kind of arbitrary (although that's not the same as saying they're not important – I'm wary in this episode of being too "well actually we can't PROVE air pollution is bad")
I disagree about "begs the question" and what it means for language. I think "begs the question" in its common and far more prevalent usage is a useful phrase. That's probably why it's become so common.
The formal use from logic is largely known only to those who study logic, and I don't think the English phrase itself helps anyone understand it. To help make the concept more accessible and familiar, I think we should cede the phrase to it's common usage and rename the logical fallacy. A linguist in this article suggests "assumes the conclusion" would be a more appropriate translation of the original "petitio principii." Language evolves, I don't know that it makes sense to hold on to a translation from the 16th century.
How come you don't discuss the wood burning stove issues? Among my environmentally concerned group there is great reluctance to accept they aren't great.
More seriously, isn’t the relevant health issue early death rather than just deaths? People who die at 90 will have been exposed to all sorts of health risks, but attributing their death to any of them is not really helpful. But for people who die at 25 it really is importantly to know what the contributing factors are.
Reminded me of my dad's favorite joke. When you asked him how someone died he would reply, "they stopped breathing, I guess."
Exactly! How you define these things is kind of arbitrary (although that's not the same as saying they're not important – I'm wary in this episode of being too "well actually we can't PROVE air pollution is bad")
I disagree about "begs the question" and what it means for language. I think "begs the question" in its common and far more prevalent usage is a useful phrase. That's probably why it's become so common.
The formal use from logic is largely known only to those who study logic, and I don't think the English phrase itself helps anyone understand it. To help make the concept more accessible and familiar, I think we should cede the phrase to it's common usage and rename the logical fallacy. A linguist in this article suggests "assumes the conclusion" would be a more appropriate translation of the original "petitio principii." Language evolves, I don't know that it makes sense to hold on to a translation from the 16th century.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/beg-the-question#:~:text=Begging%20the%20question%20means%20%22to,phrase%20itself%20comes%20from%20a
How come you don't discuss the wood burning stove issues? Among my environmentally concerned group there is great reluctance to accept they aren't great.
More seriously, isn’t the relevant health issue early death rather than just deaths? People who die at 90 will have been exposed to all sorts of health risks, but attributing their death to any of them is not really helpful. But for people who die at 25 it really is importantly to know what the contributing factors are.
100% of all deaths can be attributed to being born some years earlier.