Ad Hominem: Difference between revisions
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== Circumstantial ad hominem ==
When the circumstances of the arguer are held to affect the truth of the argument. It's frequently rolled out against people who have any kind of motive for making their argument (the "he ''would'' say that, wouldn't he?" defense), often intended to imply that "he" is an incredibly selfish/malicious person for even looking at the idea with an open mind. In reality, it's more unreasonable to expect someone to have ''no'' reason to hold their viewpoint; their vested interest may be a reason to do a somewhat more thorough testing of their claim (as they are admittedly not an objective observer) but does not ''automatically'' invalidate their criticism.
{{quote|'''Bob:''' "This bill will be expensive and will not work, therefore you should vote against it."
'''Alice:''' "Bob is employed by a company which stands to lose money from this bill, therefore Bob will lose money and perhaps his job if this bill passes. ''Of course'' he would oppose it." }}
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== Poisoning the Well ==
This fallacy can be one of two types, either discrediting the opponent before they even begin to make their argument, usually by a direct ad hominem against them ("And might I just remind the audience before Alice speaks that she is a convicted felon?") ''or'' by calling the validity of their sources or standing into question after they have made their argument. More or less the converse of [[Appeal to Authority]]; here, the attempt is to make an audience reject a claim because of the speaker's alleged ''lack'' of authority.
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