Statement #277 Discussion

Below is the statement as it appears with the fallacy marked as correct. You can see the totals of most frequent responses to this statement. And after reading the any discussion going on below, you can select your choice(s) for the correct answer. For now, whoever posts each statement can update corrections.

What to cum

Ad Hominem
AKA Ad Hominem Abusive, Personal Attack
Category: Fallacies of Relevance (Red Herrings) → Ad hominems (Genetic Fallacies)

Translated from Latin to English, "ad Hominem" means "against the man" or "against the person."

An ad Hominem is a general category of fallacies in which a claim or argument is rejected on the basis of some irrelevant fact about the author of or the person presenting the claim or argument. Typically, this fallacy involves two steps. First, an attack against the character of person making the claim, her circumstances, or her actions is made (or the character, circumstances, or actions of the person reporting the claim). Second, this attack is taken to be evidence against the claim or argument the person in question is making (or presenting). This type of "argument" has the following form:

Person A makes claim X.
Person B makes an attack on person A.
Therefore A's claim is false.

The reason why an ad Hominem (of any kind) is a fallacy is that the character, circumstances, or actions of a person do not (in most cases) have a bearing on the truth or falsity of the claim being made (or the quality of the argument being made).

Ad Hominem

261 Total Answer Attempts 19%
50 Correctly Popped Fallacies
211 Incorrectly Un/Popped

Most Common Responses

50 - Ad Hominem
22 - Begging the Question
20 - Personal Attack
12 - Confusing Cause and Effect
12 - Misleading Vividness
11 - Appeal to Emotion
10 - Red Herring
9 - Peer Pressure
8 - Appeal to Flattery
8 - Appeal to Ridicule
7 - Fallacy of Composition
7 - Ad Hominem Tu Quoque
6 - Ignoring a Common Cause
6 - Appeal to Common Practice
6 - Genetic Fallacy
6 - Poisoning the Well
5 - False Dilemma
5 - Post Hoc
5 - Appeal to Novelty
5 - Appeal to Spite
4 - Guilt by Association
4 - Appeal to the Consequences of a Belief
4 - Fallacy of Division
4 - Appeal to Fear
4 - Gambler's Fallacy
3 - Appeal to Popularity
3 - Biased Generalization
3 - Special Pleading
2 - Relativist Fallacy
2 - Appeal to Pity
2 - Slippery Slope
1 - Burden of Proof
1 - Circumstantial Ad Hominem
1 - Hasty Generalization
1 - Appeal to Tradition
1 - Appeal to Belief
1 - Middle Ground

Likes for Correct Answers

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