Ad hominem

Ad hominemis aLatinword for a type ofargument.It is a word often used inrhetoric.Rhetoric is the science of speaking well, and convincing other people of yourideas.

Translated to English,ad hominemmeansagainst the person.In other words, when someone makes an ad hominem, they areattackingthe person they are arguing against, instead of what they are saying.

The term comes from the Latin wordhomo,which meanshuman.Hominemis agenderneutral version of the wordhomo.In ancientRomeit referred to all free men, or in other words, all free human beings.

Ad hominem can be a way to usereputation,rumorsandhearsayto change the minds of other people listening. When asocial networkhas already excluded or exiled one person, or applied a negativelabelto them, this can work more often.

It is most of the time considered to be a weak and poor argument. Incourtsand indiplomacyad hominems are not appreciated.

Ad hominems are not wrong every time. For example, when people think that someone can't betrusted,things that they have said previously can bedoubted.

What an ad hominem argument looks like

Inlogic,aproofis something that starts withpremises,and goes through a few logicalarguments,to reach aconclusion.

Normal (valid) proof

1. Allhumansare mortal.
2. Socratesis human.
3. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

Ad hominem example

1. Person A thinksabortionshould beillegal.
2. Person A is uneducated and poor.
3. Therefore, abortion should not be illegal.

In this example it can be seen that the (completely unrelated) fact that person A is uneducated and poor is used to prove that abortion should not be illegal.

Related pages

• Fallacyfor a list of other types of (false) rhetorical arguments.