Definition:
An argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case; a logical fallacy that involves a personal attack. See also: tu quoque.
Etymology:
From the Latin, "against the man"Examples and Observations:
- "The abusive ad hominem is not just a case of directing abusive language toward another person. . . . The fallacy is committed when one engages in a personal attack as a means of ignoring, discrediting, or blunting the force of another's argument.
"Although some faulty arguers may call attention to distasteful features of their opponents in order to manipulate the responses of their audience, most abusers apparently believe that such characteristics actually provide good reasons for ignoring or discrediting the arguments of those who have them. Logically, of course, the fact that any of these characteristics might fit an opponent provides no reason to ignore or discredit his or arguments or criticisms."
(T. Edward Damer, Attacking Faulty Reasoning, 4th ed., Wadsworth, 2001) - "Do we live in an age of hatred? Or has the language of political insult simply become more extreme? Tap the words 'I hate Gordon Brown' into Google, and it comes up with 1,490,000 entries. . . .
"Here is one sentence, culled from a recent national newspaper leader . . .: 'They [British voters] know their Premier to be a neurotic, dysfunctional mediocrity; an insecure Stalinist who worships power but cannot take a decision; a moral and political coward who tries to fill the vacuum at the heart of his leadership with blustering rhetoric and adolescent bullying.'
"Lampooned figures in the past . . . were, from time to time, enveloped in crises every bit as damaging as those that confront Mr Brown. But never were they subjected to such woundingly ad hominem attacks."
(Magnus Linklater, "The Age of Personal Vitriolic Abuse," The Times, May 16, 2008)
Pronunciation: ad HOME-eh-nem
Also Known As: argumentum ad hominem, abusive ad hominem, poisoning the well
