From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed May 07 2003 - 10:41:40 MDT
Damien Broderick wrote:
> At 08:04 AM 5/7/03 -0400, gts wrote:
>>If I spit on the sidewalk and some passerby sees me and calls me a bum
>>then he is making an implied ad hominem argument
>
> He is making and declaring an *assessment*, which then
> functions as an attempted performative or perlocutionary act,
> like declaring a meeting open or ordering someone off your lawn.
I see it as an implied argument about the merits of spitting on the
sidewalk. I'm for it. He's against it.
A valid argument would be something like "Excuse me sir, but I noticed you
spitting on the sidewalk. I feel obliged to inform you that many people find
that offensive. If you want to be socially accepted then you should refrain
from spitting on the sidewalk."
Instead he is saying "You're a bum because you believe it's okay to spit on
the sidewalk." That is a pure ad hominem argument.
-gts
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