Abusive Ad Hominem

From EvoWiki

This page is part of the EvoWiki encyclopedia of fallacies. Browse: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Contents 1 Synonyms 2 Explanation 3 Countermeasure 4 Category 5 External Links 6 Examples in creationist arguments 7 Example from an EvoWiki Talk page

Synonyms

• ad hominem abusive
• Name Calling
• Personal Attack, abusive form

Explanation

You commit this fallacy if you insult your opponent instead of dealing with his argument.

It is important to note that mere insults are not ad hominem. For example:

"You are a fool" is not ad hominem, it is simply an insult.

"You are a fool, so you must be wrong" is ad hominem; it implies a logical connection between the person's status and their argument which may not exist, and also avoids answering the argument at all.

It may be worth knowing this distinction, as creationists occasionally falsely accuse opponents of ad hominem.

Countermeasure

Point out that the fallacy user probably has no real arguments if he has to use such low tactics.

Category

• Attacking the Person

External Links

• Fallacy Files [1]
• Wikipedia [2]
• Informal Fallacies [3]

Examples in creationist arguments

• Evolutionists are intellectual snobs
• Scientists lie if they talk about an old earth and evolution
• There was nothing prehistoric. That word was created to brainwash us
• People who say dinosaurs lived 145 million years ago have been brainwashed
• Evolution is racist
• Darwin himself was racist
• Darwin's work refers to preservation of favoured races
• Evolution is the foundation of an immoral worldview

Example from an EvoWiki Talk page

• Talk:CreationWiki: these edits [4] [5]