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To: LexBaird
Could of, would of, should of... More word play...

It was a happy accident this war.

1,283 posted on 05/31/2007 10:19:50 AM PDT by carton253 (I've cried tears and stayed the same.)
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To: carton253
It isn't word play. It is precise meaning. "Would" does not mean the same as "could", and they are not interchangeable.

What you are committing is the logical fallacy commonly known as "begging the question", wherein your desired answer is assumed by the question you ask. If one accepts your premise, one must necessarily accept your answer, because you include it in your premise. Therefore, it is not a proper argument.

Here are three fallacious arguments with the same structure:

"Given that you beat your wife, have you stopped? Yes or no."

"Given that I am always correct, are you not wrong to disagree with me? Yes or no."

"Given that Lincoln's advisers told him X, which subsequent to the event proved so, didn't he know them to be correct before the event? Yes or no."

1,291 posted on 05/31/2007 11:02:18 AM PDT by LexBaird (PR releases are the Chinese dog food of political square meals.)
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