Argumentum ad hominem

Cogito ergo sum
Logic and rhetoric

Key articles

* Logical fallacy
* Syllogism
* Argument

General logic

* Argumentum ad nauseam
* Extended analogy
* Overgeneralization
* Nutpicking
* I'm not prejudiced, but...
* گزاره‌ی حمله‌ی شخصی

Bad logic

* Fallacy fallacy
* Invincible authority
* Loaded question
* Appeal to probability
* Toupee fallacy
* Association fallacy

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“”When the facts are on your side, pound the facts. When the law is on your side, pound the law. When neither is on your side, pound the table.

—Anonymous[1]

“”If people are calling names then that means they don't have a good argument against what we're doing. So I feel that that's actually a statement by them that I must be right.

—Attorney Gloria Allred[2]

Argumentum ad hominem (from the Latin, "argument to the person") is an informal logical fallacy that occurs when someone attempts to refute an argument by attacking the claim-maker, rather than engaging in an argument or factual refutation of the claim. It can also be an attempt instead of refuting the argument to discredit[3] the person making the argument. There are many subsets of ad hominem, all of them attacking the source of the claim rather than attacking the claim or attempting to counter arguments. They are a type of fallacy of relevance.

The fallacy is a subset of the genetic fallacy, as it focuses on the source of the argument, at the expense of focusing on the truth or falsity of the actual argument itself.

An ad hominem should not be confused with an insult, which admittedly attacks a person, but does not seek to rebut that person's arguments by doing so — that type of rhetoric is better termed as poisoning the well.

Of note: if the subject of discussion is whether or not somebody is credible and/or competent — e.g., "believe X because I am Y" — then it is not an ad hominem to criticize their qualifications.

## Contents

* 1 Alternative names
* 2 Strict usage
* 3 How ad hominem works
* 3.1 Usage
* 3.2 As convincing rhetoric
* 4 Not ad hom
* 4.1 When debating about a person
* 4.2 Incidental, unrelated ad hominem
* 5 Abuse
* 6 TL;DR
* 7 Additional meanings
* 8 See also
* 8.1 Want to read this in another language?
* 9 External links
* 10 References

## Alternative names[edit]

* Argument against the man
* Attack on the person
* Character assassination
* Personal attack
* Ad hom
* Ad Hominem Attack

## Strict usage[edit]

An ad hominem argument has the basic form:

P1: Person A makes claim X.

P2: There is something objectionable about person A.

C: Therefore, claim X is false.

## How ad hominem works[edit]

### Usage[edit]

While an ad hominem attack is not synonymous with "crass insult" (see below), it is also true that you can make a fallacious ad hom argument without being rude or crass about it. As a result, these can go unacknowledged as fallacious.

The "circumstantial ad hominem", or "appeal to motive", happens where an opponent's argument is discarded on the basis that they have some motivation for making it; for example, that it is in a banker's best interests to say he has not stolen from his company's accounts, so obviously he has. All "well they would say that, wouldn't they?" arguments are based on this form of ad hominem and can regularly be found propping up conspiracy theories when their existence is denied by an authority. A good rule of thumb to spot the fallacy here is that this sort of argument devalues the denial, but does not bolster the original assertion.

A personal attack can also be a cause for aesthetic judgment, such as in condemning a creative work created by an infamous person. Examples include Charles Manson's status as a multiple murderer and cult leader would affect reviews of his song-writing; similarly with Jimmy Savile and Gary Glitter's sexual assaults tainting their previous work; and also regarding Richard Wagner's well-known antisemitism and later associations with the Third Reich, although this hasn't deterred notable Jewish Wagner enthusiasts, including Gustav Mahler and Stephen Fry. Much less infamously, most people don't find Philip Pullman's condemnations of C. S. Lewis very convincing because Pullman has a vested interest in promoting his own series as a direct competitor to Lewis's work.[4][5] "Separating the art from the artist", therefore, has become a core area of debate in literary and artistic criticism.

### As convincing rhetoric[edit]

Often, ad hominem attacks are used subtly in order to influence[6] the views of their audience. This is often termed poisoning the well where it occurs before an argument has been made and is a form of psychological priming. One could point out bad things that the opponent has done in the past, for instance, or establish an untrustworthy track record. In arguments about morality, one could make the argument that the opponent does not practice what they preach. This is a special case called ad hominem tu quoque.

Ad hominem arguments can work to convince people via a combination of the halo effect[7] and cognitive ease. The halo effect is a cognitive bias in which the perception of one trait is influenced by the perception of an unrelated trait, e.g. treating an attractive person as more intelligent or more honest. Thus, if you can attribute a bad trait to your opponent, others will tend to doubt the quality of their arguments. With respect to cognitive ease, by repeating the ad hominem enough times, the cognitive strain required to reject someone's argument is lowered. By sufficient association with negative personal traits, rejecting an argument (with or without thorough evaluation) becomes a favoured option.

## Not ad hom[edit]

There is common confusion about what is, and what isn't, ad hominem — that is, what does and does not employ fallacious reasoning. Generally, ad hominem does not mean "crass insult".

### When debating about a person[edit]

As ad hominem arguments are only fallacious if they do not follow (non sequitur), if the argument and the person's character are related, then there may not be a fallacy. In particular, a criticism is not an ad hominem argument if a person's merits are actually the topic of the argument. If the subject of the debate is the inherent trustworthiness of someone, or what prior probability you would assign to them telling the truth, then their previous track record is relevant to the subject. If debating a person's ability to do a task, then their effectiveness at that task or suitably similar ones is relevant.

### Incidental, unrelated ad hominem[edit]

Ad hominem attacks are strictly fallacious when the attack has little or no bearing on the argument at hand. For example, dismissing a female scientist's opinion on a subject because she is a woman would be a fallacious ad hominem argument. Dismissing it for being incorrect with relevant evidence or reasoning, but making a sexist comment at the same time, would not employ formally fallacious reasoning. On the flip-side, dismissing that evidence or reasoning because it came packaged with a sexist comment wouldn't follow.

Of course, the fact that something is not a logical fallacy does not automatically make it a desirable debating tactic. Even if the underlying argument is sound, snide remarks and obnoxious insults can form an effective part of the rhetoric and cause people to dismiss an argument as the incidental attack triggers their own prior biases (see above).

## Abuse[edit]

“”grow a brain libtards, and refrain from personal attacks

—u/Quietuus[8]

Strangely, the people who cry about "ad hominem" the most tend to be those who make ad hominems the most. This may be because the people who tend to care about ad hominem attacks (since they, unlike most people, aren't able to brush them off and get back to the substance of the debate) are also those who aren't able to make more substantive attacks than "You're dumb."

Alternatively, people all too often cry "ad hominem" when their debate opponent insults them, while failing to see the opposing arguments.[9]

## TL;DR[edit]

* You are wrong and you are an idiot.

Not an Ad hominem. That’s just being rude.

* You are wrong because you are an idiot.

Ad hominem.

## Additional meanings[edit]

The traditional meaning of the phrase is that an "argumentum ad hominem" is one tailored to appeal to the person with whom one is arguing rather than to impartial reason. This definition may be seen in Modern English Usage by H. H. Fowler,[10] a book whose explanations of usage are often taken as highly authoritative, if not definitive. For example, if you wanted to convince someone that Costa Rica was a superior place to go on vacation and you knew that the person was a keen birdwatcher, you might point out that Costa Rica is full of interesting bird life.

Fowler also mentions the following types of argumenta:

* ad baculum (stick) or baculimum, threat of force instead of argument;
* ad ignorantiam, one depending for its effect on the hearer's not knowing something essential;
* ad populum, one pandering to popular passion;
* ad vericundiam (modesty), one to meet which requires the opponent to offend against decorum.

## See also[edit]

* Ad hoc
* Argumentum ad cellarium
* Argumentum ex culo
* Emotional appeal
* Loaded language
* Non sequitur
* Red herring
* Shill gambit
* Mike Bara

### Want to read this in another language?

. پیدا کنید گزاره‌ی حمله‌ی شخصی اگر به دنبال این مقاله به زبان فارسی هستید، می توانید آن را در

Si vous voulez cet article en français, il peut être trouvé à Argumentum ad hominem (français).

Русскоязычным вариантом данной статьи является статья Ad hominem

## External links[edit]

* See the Wikipedia article on Ad hominem.
* "Ad Hominem: How People Use Personal Attacks to Win Arguments", Effectiviology
* "Ad Hominem" Fallacy Files
* "Ad Hominem", Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
* Attacking the Person, Michael J. Connelly
* Your logical fallacy is ad hominem, YLFI

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Legal Advice: Pound the Facts, Pound the Law, Pound the TableQuote Investigator.
2. ↑ Gloria Allred has been endlessly parodied. A new movie aims to celebrate her instead. by Stephanie Merry (February 9, 2018 at 1:04 PM) The Washington Post.
3. ↑ Ad Hominem Fallacy | Definition & Examples Scribbr 21 April 2023
4. ↑ "Are the Chronicles of Narnia Sexist and Racist? A Discussion in Eight Parts" by Dr. Devin Brown, Narnia Web
5. ↑ "A Secular Fantasy: The Flawed But Fascinating Fiction of Philip Pullman" by Cathy Young, Reason Magazine
6. ↑ 15 Ad Hominem Fallacy Examples Helpful Professor 10 September 2023
7. ↑ Halo Effect In Psychology: Definition And Examples Simply Psychology 7 September 2023
8. ↑ Kissing a hot cousin in this case just may be better than promoting communism and socialism, sucking Muslim dick and living a libtard fairy tale dream where the only reality is cashing in that welfare check that is endorsed by those slimy, murderous, disgusting politicians you call "leaders"… by u/Quietuus (c. 2016) Reddit (archived from February 22, 2017).
9. ↑ The Ad Hominem Fallacy Fallacy by Stephen Bond
10. ↑ Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, edited by Jeremy Butterfield (2015) Oxford Unviersity Press. 4th ed. ISBN 9780199661350.

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Articles about logical fallacies

Informal fallacies: |  Appeal to tradition • Appeal to novelty • Appeal to nature • Argument from morality • Argumentum ad martyrdom • Big words • Certum est quia impossibile est • Morton's fork • Friend argument • Exception that proves the rule • Extended analogy • Hindsight bias • Race card • Moralistic fallacy • Release the data • Gish Gallop • Terrorism-baiting • Uncertainty tactic • Greece-baiting • Ham Hightail • Red-baiting • Gore's Law • Nazi analogies • Mistaking the map for the territory • Red herring • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Presentism • Sunk cost • Two wrongs make a right • Flying carpet fallacy • My enemy's enemy • Appeal to ancient wisdom • Danth's Law • Argumentum ad lunam • Balance fallacy • Golden hammer • Loaded question • Escape to the future • Word magic • Spider-Man fallacy • Sanctioning the devil • Appeal to mystery • Informal fallacy • Common sense • Post-designation • Hyperbole • Relativist fallacy • Due diligence • Straw man • Good old days • Appeal to probability • Infinite regress • Circular reasoning • Media was wrong before • Is–ought problem • Ad iram • Just asking questions • Pink-baiting • Appeal to faith • Appeal to fear • Appeal to bias • Appeal to confidence • Appeal to consequences • Appeal to emotion • Appeal to flattery • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to hate • Argument from omniscience • Argument from silence • Argumentum ad baculum • Argumentum ad fastidium • Association fallacy • Broken window fallacy • Category mistake • Confounding factor • Counterfactual fallacy • Courtier's Reply • Damning with faint praise • Definitional fallacies • Equivocation • Fallacy of accent • Fallacy of accident • Fallacy of amphiboly • Gambler's fallacy • Imprecision fallacy • Moving the goalposts • Nirvana fallacy • Overprecision • Pathos gambit • Pragmatic fallacy • Quote mining • Argumentum ad sarcina inserta • Science doesn't know everything • Slothful induction • Spotlight fallacy • Style over substance • Toupee fallacy • Genuine but insignificant cause • Argument from incredulity • Appeal to age • Argumentum ad nauseam • Phantom distinction • Appeal to common sense • Argumentum ad hysteria • Omnipotence paradox • Argument from etymology • Appeal to trauma • Countless counterfeits fallacy •
| Ad hoc: |  No True Scotsman • Moving the goalposts • Escape hatch • Handwave • Special pleading • Slothful induction • Nirvana fallacy • God of the gaps • PIDOOMA • Ad hoc • Tone argument •
| Arguments from ignorance: |  Science doesn't know everything • Argument from incredulity • Argument from silence • Toupee fallacy • Appeal to censorship • Science was wrong before • Holmesian fallacy • Argument from omniscience • Willful ignorance • Argument from ignorance •
| Causation fallacies: |  Post hoc, ergo propter hoc • Correlation does not imply causation • Wrong direction • Counterfactual fallacy • Regression fallacy • Gambler's fallacy • Denying the antecedent • Genuine but insignificant cause •
| Circular reasoning: |  Infinite regress • Argument by assertion • Argumentum ad dictionarium • Appeal to faith • Circular reasoning • Self-refuting idea •
| Emotional appeals: |  Appeal to fear • Appeal to emotion • Appeal to confidence • Deepity • Argumentum ad baculum • Appeal to shame • Appeal to flattery • Tone argument • Appeal to money • Argumentum ad fastidium • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to consequences • Loaded language • Style over substance • Appeal to pity • Appeal to hate • Pathos gambit • Shaming • Degenerate • Abomination •
| Fallacies of ambiguity: |  Fallacy of accent • Equivocation • Fallacy of amphiboly • Quote mining • Fallacy of ambiguity • Moral equivalence • Scope fallacy • Suppressed correlative • Not as bad as • Etymology • Continuum fallacy • Wronger than wrong • Definitional fallacies • Code word • Phantom distinction •
Formal fallacies: |  Confusion of the inverse • Denying the antecedent • Non sequitur • Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise • Not even wrong • Chewbacca Defense • Affirming a disjunct • Illicit process • Four-term fallacy • Negative conclusion from affirmative premises • Fallacy fallacy • Substituting explanation for premise • Enthymeme • Syllogism • Formal fallacy • Existential assumption • Masked man fallacy • Self-refuting idea • Argument by gibberish • One single proof • Affirming the consequent • False dilemma • Conjunction fallacy •
Fallacious arguments: |  Bumblebee argument • Fatwa envy • Gotcha argument • Hoyle's fallacy • Intuition pump • Logic and Creation • Not Circular Reasoning • Peanut butter argument • Great Beethoven fallacy • Fallacy of unique founding conditions • Evil is the absence of God • Argument from first cause • How do you know? Were you there? • Argument from design • Argument from beauty • Appeal to nature • Solferino fallacy • Religious scientists • Nothing to hide • Argument from fine tuning • Creep shaming • "I used to be an atheist" • Atheism as a religion • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from morality • Anti-environmentalism • Appeal to bias • Apophasis • Argumentum ad nauseam • Appeal to censorship • Argumentum ad sarcina inserta • Blaming the victim • Bait-and-switch • Danth's Law • Chewbacca Defense • Canard • DARVO • Demonization • Escape hatch • Friend argument • Everyone is racist • Gish Gallop • Greece-baiting • Gore's Law • Ham Hightail • Just asking questions • Leading question • Loaded language • Linking to authority • Loaded question • Lying by omission • Motte and bailey • Nazi analogies • Moving the goalposts • One single proof • Pink-baiting • One-way hash argument • Pathos gambit • Quote mining • Poisoning the well • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Race card • Red-baiting • Red herring • Release the data • Science was wrong before • Shill gambit • Straw man • Silent Majority • Uncertainty tactic • Style over substance • Terrorism-baiting • Weasel word • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Whataboutism • Bullshit • Logical fallacy • Banana argument • Scapegoat • How come there are still monkeys? • Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white • Ontological argument • Omnipotence paradox • Presuppositionalism • Just a joke • Countless counterfeits fallacy •
Conditional fallacies: |  Slippery slope • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Special pleading • Conditional fallacy • On the spot fallacy • Appeal to the minority • Argumentum ad populum • Galileo gambit • Professor of nothing •
| Genetic fallacies: |  Genetic fallacy •
|  | Appeals to authority: |  Ipse dixit • Appeal to confidence • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from authority • Linking to authority • Silent Majority • Invincible authority • Appeal to celebrity • Ultracrepidarianism • Appeal to the minority • Galileo gambit • Appeal to identity • Weasel word • Professor of nothing • Euthyphro dilemma • Divine command theory •
|  | Ad hominem: |  Ad iram • Argumentum ad cellarium • Bulverism • Poisoning the well • Blaming the victim • Tu quoque • Whataboutism • Nutpicking • Jonanism • Demonization • Shill gambit • Appeal to bias • Fallacy of opposition • Association fallacy • Damning with faint praise • Pathos gambit • Appeal to identity • Nazi analogies • Not an argument • Nothing to hide • Scapegoat • 地下室论证 •
| Imprecision fallacies: |  Apex fallacy • Overprecision • Cherry picking • Overgeneralization • Texas sharpshooter fallacy • False analogy • Appeal to fiction • Spotlight fallacy • Pragmatic fallacy • Selection bias • Anecdotal evidence • Category mistake • Nutpicking • Imprecision fallacy • Confounding factor • Fallacy of accident • Neyman's bias •
Valid logical methods: |  Rapoport's Rules • Negative evidence • Reductio ad absurdum •
Fallacy collections: |  SeekFind • Nizkor Project • Fallacy Files • Your Logical Fallacy Is • Logically Fallacious •