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Joan et. al.<BR>
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Yes, argument ad hominem can be amusing. But you lost me totally in your assertion that this form of argument cannot be dismissed as "fallacious" or "invalid" when you stated emphatically that "it is neither."<BR>
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You wrote:<BR>
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As a type of polemic, the ad hominem is often dismissed as <BR>
either fallacious or invalid; it is neither. It's simply not logical. <BR>
It can, however, be amusing. <BR>
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"Fallacious" and "invalid" are words that in their common definitions can be used to refer to the correctness of logical arguments. Your claim that ad hominem arguments are neither "fallacious" or "invalid" does not fit common usage.<BR>
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First, the definition of "fallacious," and not one from a technical study of logic, but from the hoi polloi web site dictionary.com:<BR>
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<B>fallacious </B>adj 1: containing or based on a fallacy; "fallacious reasoning"; "an unsound argument" [syn: <A HREF="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=unsound">unsound</A>] 2: intended to deceive; "deceitful advertising"; "fallacious testimony"; "smooth, shining, and deceitful as thin ice" - S.T.Coleridge; "a fraudulent scheme to escape paying taxes" [syn: <A HREF="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=deceitful">deceitful</A>, <A HREF="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fraudulent">fraudulent</A>] 3: based on an incorrect or misleading notion or information; "fallacious hope"<BR>
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"Fallacious" in this definition first refers to fallacious reasoning, an unsound argument. Argument ad hominem can most definitely refer to a fallacious argument, an argument that contains a "fallacy."<BR>
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Below is an argument using argument ad hominem that is "fallacious:"<BR>
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Person X is a bad man who has killed dozens of helpless women and children in cold blooded premeditated murder for no other reason than his sadistic personal pleasure.<BR>
Any ethical principle person X espouses is therefore a false principle, because of the overwhelming evil that person X embodies (ad hominem type of thinking).<BR>
Person X states that premeditated cold blooded murder like he committed is wrong.<BR>
Therefore, the ethical principle that "cold blooded premeditated murder for no other reason than sadistic personal pleasure is wrong," is a false principle, because person X espoused it.<BR>
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In the argument above, use of argument ad hominem leads to a fallacious conclusion, assuming we accept the principle on murder offered above as a valid ethical principle that exists in fact in an accepted ethical system(s).<BR>
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Again from dictionary.com, below is a discussion of the history and current usage of "ad hominem" argument. It is apparent this type of "argument" has a rather broad application in common usage, with debate ongoing as to the exact correct proper usage. Note the discussion of the application of argument ad hominem based on gender and the suggestions for the use of argument "ad feminam:"<BR>
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<B>ad hom<IMG SRC="http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/prime.gif" WIDTH="4" HEIGHT="22" BORDER="0" DATASIZE="55">i·nem<IMG SRC="http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/lprime.gif" WIDTH="3" HEIGHT="22" BORDER="0" DATASIZE="52"></B> <I>adv.</I> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" BACK="#ffffff" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"><B>Usage Note: </B>As the principal meaning of the preposition <I>ad</I> suggests, the <I>homo</I> of <I>ad hominem</I> was originally the person to whom an argument was addressed, not its subject. The phrase denoted an argument designed to appeal to the listener's emotions rather than to reason, as in the sentence The Republicans' evocation of pity for the small farmer struggling to maintain his property is a purely ad hominem argument for reducing inheritance taxes. This usage appears to be waning; only 37 percent of the Usage Panel finds this sentence acceptable. The phrase now chiefly describes an argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case: Ad hominem attacks on one's opponent are a tried-and-true strategy for people who have a case that is weak. Ninety percent of the Panel finds this sentence acceptable. The expression now also has a looser use in referring to any personal attack, whether or not it is part of an argument, as in <I>It isn't in the best interests of the nation for the press to attack him in this personal, ad hominem way.</I> This use is acceptable to 65 percent of the Panel. ·<I>Ad hominem</I> has also recently acquired a use as a noun denoting personal attacks, as in “Notwithstanding all the ad hominem, Gingrich insists that he and Panetta can work together” (Washington Post). This usage may raise some eyebrows, though it appears to be gaining ground in journalistic style. ·A modern coinage patterned on <I>ad hominem</I> is <I>ad feminam,</I> as in “Its treatment of Nabokov and its ad feminam attack on his wife Vera often border on character assassination” (Simon Karlinsky). Though some would argue that this neologism is unnecessary because the Latin word <I>homo</I> refers to humans generically, rather than to the male sex, in some contexts <I>ad feminam</I> has a more specific meaning than <I>ad hominem</I>, being used to describe attacks on women as women or because they are women, as in “Their recourse... to ad feminam attacks evidences the chilly climate for women's leadership on campus” (Donna M. Riley).</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
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Ted Moffett</FONT></HTML>