[Vision2020] Earmark and intial comments on Ralph's Religion and morality

[Tbertruss at aol.com]

chasuk at gmail.com wrote on 10/1/05:

"My second comment: would you kindly attack the substance of
Mr. Paul's study, rather than his reputation?  I don't remember the
Latin which describes this type of fallacious logic; maybe Nick can
help me out here."

I'm only a lowly former student of the illustrious Nick Gier, but perhaps the 
Latin phrase you seek to describe an attack based on reputation is "argument 
ad hominem."

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ad%20hominem
ad hom·i·nem    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (hm-nm, -nm)
adj. Appealing to personal considerations rather than to logic or reason: 
Debaters should avoid ad hominem arguments that question their opponents' 
motives. 
[Latin  : ad, to + hominem, accusative of hom, man.]    

Odd that dictionary.com offers the advice to avoid argument ad hominem, when 
the evidence is clear that it is often a very successful tactic to negate the 
effectiveness in real terms in society of any argument based on reason and 
fact, thus the "politics of personal destruction" that appears to dominate our 
political discourse, indeed, in discussions of all sorts between people 
everywhere.

Ted Moffett
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