Usage of "?" mid-sentence

Question

I know, this problem is quite ordinary, and given enough time, I might be able to figure this one out myself, but I am also a little bit pressed for time. I'd like to include the following sentence in an application paper for a conference:

The philosophical question What is truth?, and the seemingly “moral” question What is good (behavior)?, ultimately refer to the same process...

Simple question: Is the punctuation admissible in formal english?

Thanks and best regards

Thanks, but although both questions can be regarded as quotes, they are not primarily meant as such. Both questions are archetypical for either philosophical or moral discussions, but in this case none of these questions is attributed to an author or a specific discourse. — user71790, Apr 11 '14 at 19:12
One is usually attributed to Pontius Pilate in the bible, the other seems to be Jesus speaking in Matthew. — Elliott Frisch, Apr 11 '14 at 19:14
Yes, they are quotes: quote 4. A dictum; a saying. [AHDEL]. Even something as banal as 'Please do not smoke' on a notice on a wall is a quote when quoted (as here). — Edwin Ashworth, Apr 11 '14 at 19:40

Chris Sunami · Answer 1 · 2014-04-11T19:20:46.807

Put the questions in quotation marks:

The philosophical question "What is truth?" and the seemingly moral question "What is good (behavior)?" ultimately refer to the same process...

"Moral" does not need to be placed in quotation marks, since you already used the modifier "seemingly." I'd personally also drop the commas, mainly because of the clumsiness of the question mark, quotation mark and comma all occurring together.

Note: The quotation marks in this case do not indicate that you are quoting someone, but rather serve to separate the question from the larger sentence. In a sense you are quoting yourself, and/or a generic querent.

Usage of "?" mid-sentence

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