Re: Name Calling vs. Ad Hominem

From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lee@piclab.com)
Date: Wed May 07 2003 - 14:24:47 MDT

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    > The passerby in my example is calling me names because he disagrees
    > with my theory about spitting on sidewalks. He is attacking my
    > character as reason for not spitting on sidewalks, rather than
    > offering any valid logical argument to refute my theory. This is
    > what makes it an invalid ad hominem argument against my theory
    > about spitting on sidewalks.

    No, that was very specifically and very clearly NOT your example,
    and if that's what you were trying to say, you failed. Let's make
    it clear: argument ad hominem is

      (bad person) implies (bad theory),
    NOT
      (bad theory) implies (bad person). 

    -- 
Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lee/>
"All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past,
are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified
for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC

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