ad hominem

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ad hominem

The candidate resorted to ad hominem attacks during the debate.

Definition

  1. Adjective:

    • Appealing to personal considerations rather than fact or reason: Describes an argument or criticism that is directed against a person's character, motives, or circumstances, rather than addressing the substance of their argument or position.

  2. Adverb:

    • In a manner that appeals to personal considerations: Describes the action of arguing or attacking in a personal way.
Usage
  • The term is most commonly used to describe a logical fallacy in debate and rhetoric. An argument attempts to undermine an opponent's argument by attacking their personal traits or situation, which is irrelevant to the logical validity of the argument itself.
  • It is often used in academic, legal, and political contexts to criticize poor reasoning.
Examples

  • Adjective:

    • The politician's response was purely ad hominem, focusing on his rival's appearance instead of the policy proposal.
    • She dismissed the critique as an ad hominem attack that did not address her research findings.

  • Adverb:

    • He argued ad hominem, questioning the speaker's integrity rather than the evidence presented.
Advanced Usage
  • Formal/Logical Fallacy Context: In logic and critical thinking, is a classic fallacy. It is subdivided into types like (direct personal insult), (suggesting bias due to circumstances), and ("you also," pointing out hypocrisy).
    • His rebuttal was a clear case of tu quoque, a type of ad hominem fallacy.
Variants and Related Words
  • Ad hominem (noun phrase): Sometimes used as a noun to refer to the fallacy itself.
    • That was a blatant ad hominem.
  • Argumentum ad hominem: The full Latin phrase from which the term is derived.
Synonyms
  • Personal attack
  • Character assassination
  • Smear (though this implies a deliberate attempt to damage reputation)
Antonyms
  • Ad rem (or argumentum ad rem): An argument addressing the matter or thing at hand, focusing on facts and logic.
  • Logical argument
  • Evidence-based criticism
Related Idioms/Phrases
  • "Playing the man, not the ball": A sports-derived idiom (from rugby/football) meaning to attack the person instead of the argument, similar to .
ad hominem

The candidate resorted to ad hominem attacks during the debate.

Adjective
  1. appealing to personal considerations (rather than to fact or reason)
    • ad hominem arguments

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