To
some degree, the clarity of a question implies that the questioner has an idea
of what the answer should be or at least how the answer ought to be framed;
however, the problem of the question is as fraught with difficulties as the
answer. There are essentially two basic questions, one usually following on
from the other:
What
is X?
What
does X mean?
Often,
being told what X is, is sufficient information for the questioner to
understand quite a lot about X; however, sometimes further and better particulars
are required. ‘Further and better particulars’ is a nice little legal phrase
for ‘requesting additional information
required to provide sufficient accuracy with respect to a set of pleaded facts
in an earlier document’.
In effect having been told what X is, the questioner needs to know more i.e.
what does x mean, signify, convey, aim at, intend, connote, denote, imply,
express, determine, indicate, intimate, involve, suggest, purport, represent,
symbolise, design, contemplate, desire, expect, portend, propose and so on.
So in seeking an answer to the question,
‘What is X?’ the questioner must be aware of the risks involved in finding the
answer. Indeed, the questioner may find that s/he should have asked ‘What is
Y?’ instead. Knowing the right question is as crucial to understanding as
finding an answer.
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