• Fruitless
    68
    what more can we ask in addition to the seven basic questions of what, why, who, where, when, which, and how. It then dawned on me that "what" suffices to ask all the rest of the questions which are simply shorthand for a longer "what" question.
    @TheMadFool

    I venture into this statement, although the quote supplies a solution. However I would like to explore this idea in more detail.

    What more can we ask in addition to the seven basic question of what, why, who, where, when, which and how?

    Surely there isn't a limit to the intention behind asking a question?
  • Terrapin Station
    13.8k
    I can't offhand think of a single word for other questions, but I'd say that a couple things that are different than a general what/why/etc. are inquiries into qualia--the qualitative, experiential aspects of something, and inquiries into aboutness, reference, connotation or meaning.

    Of course, you could formulate questions about that stuff so that they begin with words like "What," but you can also reframe at least some "What" questions as "Why" questions (and vice versa), "Who" questions as "Which" questions (and vice versa), and so on.
  • Fruitless
    68
    I see what you're trying to say. So it really is the basis of the 7 elements of asking questions...
  • Caldwell
    1.3k
    What more can we ask in addition to the seven basic question of what, why, who, where, when, which and how?Fruitless

    A question that could be satisfied with a simple "yes" or "no" answer -- or the declaration of one's affirmation or negation of something. Of course, I anticipate that one would disagree, cause the "what" question could potentially be an end-all question. But could it? Let's try.
  • Fruitless
    68
    Alright.

    Who - The person behind the event
    What - The thing or situation which is behind the event
    When - The time at which it happened
    Where - The place where it happened
    Why - The intention behind the event
    How - The steps taken for the event to occur

    Is this an accurate description?
  • Caldwell
    1.3k
    Is this an accurate description?Fruitless

    Yes.

    Then, now what's missing here? These are all questions of facts. Could we ask about opinions?
  • Fruitless
    68


    Do/does - Prompts an action or visual response about the event (i.e. Do you think.. or Does it bother...)
    Is - prompts an analysis of the present situation (I.e. Is it still.... Is it the...)
    Can - Considers an action to further motivate the event (i.e. Can you tell... Can it be...)

    Is this what you mean by asking of opinions? Rather I have presented opinion as action. Is this along the same lines of your thinking ?
  • god must be atheist
    5.1k
    what more can we ask in addition to the seven basic questions of what, why, who, where, when, which, and how. It then dawned on me that "what" suffices to ask all the rest of the questions which are simply shorthand for a longer "what" question.

    What???
  • Fruitless
    68
    Well you can solve any question by asking what, then the rest of them are branches off of what. By asking what? You get a general debrief and idea of what's going on. If you want specifics you ask the other 6 questions.
  • Caldwell
    1.3k
    Is this what you mean by asking of opinions? Rather I have presented opinion as action. Is this along the same lines of your thinking ?Fruitless
    Yes, you can say that.
  • Banno
    23.1k
    Surely there isn't a limit to the intention behind asking a question?Fruitless

    Two types of questions: requests for information and teaching questions.

    A question has a form such that the required information is set out, usually by presenting an incomplete statement, together with some grammatical marker to mark the utterance as a question.

    "What is the time?" includes the incomplete statement "the time is..." together with the grammatical marker "what" and a punctuation mark for good measure.

    Teaching questions are used to find out what the student knows - "What is five plus seven?". The grammatical structure is much the same as an attempt to elicit information, but the intent is quite different.

    That's the two intentions behind most questions.

    There are also rhetorical questions, which are statements in the form of questions, and so not actually questions.

    And the game of creative uses - "Can you smell bacon?" issued near a police officer; "What use are you?" spoken to someone who has not bee helpful shows how language allows for innumerable variation.

    Edit: this analysis from Austin and Searle.
  • 180 Proof
    13.9k
    Who - The person behind the event
    What - The thing or situation which is behind the event
    When - The time at which it happened
    Where - The place where it happened
    Why - The intention behind the event
    How - The steps taken for the event to occur
    Fruitless

    7. Which - This rather than that or those
    8. Whence - The place or source from which it came
  • Banno
    23.1k
    ...what more can we ask in addition to the seven basic questions of what, why, who, where, when, which, and how.

    "Is it raining?" contains no wh... word. Questions without wh... words are not uncommon. Don't you agree? Might it have been otherwise? Do you think perhaps the analysis of all questions into "what..." is a bit inadequate?
  • creativesoul
    11.4k
    Who - The person behind the event
    What - The thing or situation which is behind the event
    When - The time at which it happened
    Where - The place where it happened
    Why - The intention behind the event
    How - The steps taken for the event to occur

    Is this an accurate description?
    Fruitless

    No.

    Leaves the event itself untouched.
  • 180 Proof
    13.9k
    (... moving on from the OP) Question-types?

    Open - requests for information cued by Who, What, Why, When, Where, Which, Whence or How ...

    Leading - requests for specifically assumed information e.g. "Where in your house did you hide the bloody knife?"

    Closed - requests for Yes/No e.g. "Is this ...?" "Will you ...?" "May I ...?"

    Test - requests for information which demonstrate subject-matter knowledge or skill; or requests for information which dis/confirm expectations or predictions

    Follow-up - requests for information with respect to presuppositions implications corroboration relevance or other aspects of given answers

    Meta - follow-up questioning of (first-order) given questions

    Rhetorical - interrogative-in-appearance-only utterances made for (dramatic/comic) effect or for making argumentative points rather than requests for information

    Pseudo - requests for information that are incoherent due to their lack of specific, satisfiable conditions and/or lack of well-defined search parameters & terms, thereby rendering any answer undecideable at best e.g. "What is the meaning of life?" "What happens to me when I die?" "Does God exist?" "Why is there something rather than nothing?"
  • Baden
    15.6k


    :up:



    Unless there's an answer you're concerned can't be elicited using the interrogative pronouns provided, there's no issue to address, is there? (Tag question :) ) Though I'm all for grammar fun...
  • 180 Proof
    13.9k
    Open questions - requests for information cued by Who, What, Why, When, Where, Which, Whence or How ...

    Follow-up questions - requests for information with respect to presuppositions implications corroboration relevance or other aspects of given answers

    Meta-questions - follow-up questioning of (first-order) given questions
    180 Proof

    Pertinent, though by no means unique, to philosophizing.
  • Fruitless
    68

    No.

    Leaves the event itself untouched.
    - @creativesoul

    But you see we have found everything out about the event?
    What more could you ask?
  • creativesoul
    11.4k


    Which event?

    :brow:

    I suppose the questions are fine after we agree upon what happened.
  • creativesoul
    11.4k


    What more could I ask?

    Those answers do not - cannot - exhaust the following question:

    What happened?
bold
italic
underline
strike
code
quote
ulist
image
url
mention
reveal
youtube
tweet
Add a Comment

Welcome to The Philosophy Forum!

Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.