Thursday, July 08, 2010
Begging the question (a child development report from Laura)
Tonight on our way home from a friends house (N & L Carlson, for you life-long Blacknallites), E our mighty three year old, did something that would make any philosopher (and lots of other highly trained academics) proud. She almost correctly used the term “beg the question.” If only she'd stopped there. Her next sentence revealed that her use appears to have been accidental (or merely a mimic) and she doesn’t ACTUALLY grasp the concept. Read on for more. (We were discussing our broken garage door opener. )
Why does daddy have to fix it, mama?
Because it’s broken.
No, mama, that’s not an answer.
Oh, am I begging the question?
Yes, mama, you’re begging the question. Why does daddy have to fix the garage?
I don’t know.
BECAUSE, mama, BECAUSE he has to fix the INSIDE and the OUTSIDE of the garage. THAT’S the answer, mama.
And now, for something entirely cute:
My network connection is too slow to post pictures. I'll try again in a moment.
