Ad Hominem Attack

is a fallacy of reasoning in which a proponent tries to support one side of an issue by criticizing his/her opponent for something having nothing to do with the issue at hand. It involves rejecting a claim made by someone simply because he/she is deemed untrustworthy for reasons unrelated to the claim.

Example: “I am so disgusted with the NRA and all the other gun rights supporters. They’re all just a bunch of undereducated rednecks that are in love with their guns!”

Problem:The charge that gun rights advocates are all “undereducated rednecks that are in love with their guns” is questionable, to say the least. But even if it were entirely true, it has no bearing on the arguments they make. If you wish to support gun control, you’re going to have to counter the arguments from the other side, not the people who make those arguments.

Example: “Pat Robertson opposes abortion and thinks that all life begins at conception. But he is also a backwards Christian fundamentalist who believes in young-earth creationism and loads of other nonsense. You can’t trust anything he says.”

Problem: In this case, the charge may be true, but it does nothing to support the pro-choice position at all. It is still possible for an unreliable source to be right. If Robertson is incorrect in his position, the way to show this is by attacking the arguments he uses, not by attacking him.

Read more...

Joplin FreeThinkers

Contact Us

Phone: (417) 434-0443

Email: info@joplinfreethinkers.org

Login

Upcoming Events

Recent Comments

Popular Posts

Catagories