Ad Hominem - A Good Read

Banjo

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I see far too many people using the ad hominem bit as a counter-attack when they don't even understand how to identify an ad hominem.

Ad Hominem
 
Thanks for that link, Banjo. I hope those that accuse of ad hominem attacks take the time to read it. One of my pet peeves is others making that accusation in an attempt to appear to be the victim.
 
Thanks for that link, Banjo. I hope those that accuse of ad hominem attacks take the time to read it. One of my pet peeves is others making that accusation in an attempt to appear to be the victim.

Exactly my point.
 
I wonder if this person who did attack someone else, will this person realize what this person have done to someone else??
 
Sounds like you have to be an iron-plated mofo to be comfortable in using ad hominems. Interesting read, Banjo. Thanks.
 
If you accept the premises, A's argument is sound; but I think most of us would sympathise with B and class it as fallacious, and ad hominem. This is because we do not accept the premise that all politicians are liars. There is a false premise that lies behind all ad hominem arguments: the notion that all people of type X make bad arguments. A has just made this premise explicit.

A: "All rodents are mammals, but a weasel isn't a rodent, so it can't be a mammal."
B: "That does not logically follow."
A: "*Sigh* Do I have to spell it out for you? All rodents are mammals, right, but a weasel isn't a rodent, so it can't be a mammal! What's so hard to understand???!?"
B: "I'm afraid you're mistaken. Look at it logically. If p implies q, then it does not follow that not-p implies not-q."
A: "I don't care about so-called logic and Ps and Qs and that stuff, I'm talking COMMON SENSE. A weasel ISN'T a mammal."
B: "Okay, this guy's an idiot. Ignore this one, folks."
A: "AD HOMINEM!!!! I WIN!!!!!"

Although the last line of B, taken out of context, might look ad hominem (and was seized upon as such by A), it should be clear that taken as a whole, B's argument is not ad hominem. B engaged thoroughly with A's argument. He is not countering A's argument by saying A is an idiot; on the contrary, having logically countered A's argument, and having seen A's reaction, he is arguing that A is an idiot.

A classic example.
 
I wish this thread could be sticky for at least a few days. Ah well.
 
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