Agree to Disagree (page 4)

dawg

5go,

Thus the reasons I wrote that it is an ad hominem attack only "if you don't have proof backing up what you said"....

the way i understand "ad hominem" is attacking a person for something that has got nothing to do with the topic. for example, if someone makes a point against the death penalty and is attacked by "you're cheating at your wife, don't teach us about morals". even if that guy is "cheating at his wife", he may have made a valid point. an "argumentum ad hominem" is used to distract from the topic by focusing on a person.

Gregor

Not to be confused with recipe directions to "add hominy"

hillary_step

Superfine,

the way i understand "ad hominem" is attacking a person for something that has got nothing to do with the topic. for example, if someone makes a point against the death penalty and is attacked by "you're cheating at your wife, don't teach us about morals". even if that guy is "cheating at his wife", he may have made a valid point. an "argumentum ad hominem" is used to distract from the topic by focusing on a person.

Yes, this is exactly the correct understanding of the term "ad hominem". It is one of the most ill-used phrases on this Board as few seem to understand what it really means and how it is to be indentified. An example of what I mean: "You are a moron if you believe the earth is flat". This is not ad hominem in use. An ad hominem attack in this case would be if a person argued, "You have an IQ of 84, therefore the earth is not flat". HS

wanderlustguy

There is a huge difference between the idea I posted and the concept of saying a sexual predator, or any other kind of criminal for that matter, is to be understood instead of hated or disciplined.

I think it was a hell of a stretch to try to bring that under the umbrella of my post.

The quality of a person which is evidenced by their actions is different than ideas put forth about "normal" things and subjects. Talking about hurting another human being, is something else entirely.

But, like all things, we see what we look for. I wasn't thinking about deviant behavior when I wrote this. I don't think that's a bad thing for me to have done, there is a reason some things are called "abnormal".

WLG

Gregor

There is a huge difference between the idea I posted and the concept of saying a sexual predator, or any other kind of criminal for that matter, is to be understood instead of hated or disciplined.

I think it was a hell of a stretch to try to bring that under the umbrella of my post.

WLG, We may not see eye to eye on the appropriate level of passion in our discussions here, but I am with you on the statement above. I feel your original statement has been exaggerated and twisted in some of the responses. I understood what you were saying.