Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Bloody hell. Keep putting it off, but am going to have to go google the meaning of ad hominem.
An Ad Hominem logical fallacy is where you say something along the lines of;
"You are a stinky person, and therefore your argument is wrong".
Saying "You are a stinky person and your argument is wrong" is not an Ad Hominem.
[Nor is it an argument]
Saying "You are a stinky person" is not an Ad Hominem, it's just an insult.
An Ad Hominem is in the form of an argument where the person making the fallacy
accuses another of being wrong BECAUSE of some supposed fault or trait that makes
them incapable of being correct. And this is done INSTEAD of dealing with the substance
of the argument.
For example: "You're wrong because you're an idiot" is an Ad Hominem fallacy because
being an idiot [even if true] does not stop you from being correct.
However saying "You're an idiot if you think that's a valid position because..." is not an Ad Hominem
because you are not claiming they are wrong because they are an idiot.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_hominem