This is not only historically inaccurate but it is currently inaccurate. The fact that a lot of not very smart people use it does not mean we should add it to the language.
I am usually not a stickler for these things, but this is very important because the actually correct phrase "begging the question" has a very specific meaning which is very difficult to convey in other words. Thus, if we allow a bunch of idiots to hijack this phrase in their hopeless quest to sound intelligent, we will lose a very useful phrase for which there is no present substitute.
I am usually not a stickler for these things, but this is very important because the actually correct phrase "begging the question" has a very specific meaning which is very difficult to convey in other words. Thus, if we allow a bunch of idiots to hijack this phrase in their hopeless quest to sound intelligent, we will lose a very useful phrase for which there is no present substitute.