Fallacy
Ad Hominem
Also known as: Personal Attack
- Category
- Fallacy
- Main group
- Informal Fallacy
- Subgroup
- Rhetorical Tactic
- Difficulty
- easy (1/3)
- Argumentation order
- 1. Argument
Description
Instead of criticizing the opponent's statement, the person is attacked personally to discredit their opinion.
Example
Judge: "Can you prove the defendant is guilty?"
Prosecutor: "With all due respect, if you believe he is innocent, you are being naive."
> Instead of arguing the merits of the case, the prosecutor questions the judge's competence.
- Limitations
In a moderate form, questioning an authority can be useful to precisely verify the expertise of their statements.
In politics, personal degradation is unfortunately a common occurrence.
- Researched by
Arthur Schopenhauer
- See also
Questionable Motives
Tu Quoque
- Opposite