A: “All rodents are mammals, but a weasel isn’t a rodent, so it can’t be a mammal.”
B: “Well, you’re a rodent and a weasel, so there goes your argument.”
B’s reply is ad hominem, but it’s also funny.
I didn’t like this one:
A: “Listen up, asshole. All rodents are mammals, but a weasel isn’t a rodent, so it can’t be a mammal.”
B: “Yet another ad hominem argument. Ignore this one, folks.”
A is abusive, and his argument is fallacious, but it’s not ad hominem. B’s reply, ironically, is ad hominem...
Well, it’s not that I dind’t like the example itself. It’s just that, given the lack of context, I don’t see how B’s reply is ad hominem. B’s reply does not say “Yet another ad hominem argument by that notorious ad hominem arguer A”, which would be ad hominem. It says “Yet another ad hominem argument”, period. If this exchange took place in a discussion in which B was trying to portray A as a fallacious arguer, it would be ad hominem, but we can’t reach this conclusion with the information we are given.
The author misuses the term ad hominem, so just reject all his arguments!
I liked this made-up example:
A: “All rodents are mammals, but a weasel isn’t a rodent, so it can’t be a mammal.” B: “Well, you’re a rodent and a weasel, so there goes your argument.”
B’s reply is ad hominem, but it’s also funny.
I didn’t like this one:
A: “Listen up, asshole. All rodents are mammals, but a weasel isn’t a rodent, so it can’t be a mammal.” B: “Yet another ad hominem argument. Ignore this one, folks.” A is abusive, and his argument is fallacious, but it’s not ad hominem. B’s reply, ironically, is ad hominem...
Well, it’s not that I dind’t like the example itself. It’s just that, given the lack of context, I don’t see how B’s reply is ad hominem. B’s reply does not say “Yet another ad hominem argument by that notorious ad hominem arguer A”, which would be ad hominem. It says “Yet another ad hominem argument”, period. If this exchange took place in a discussion in which B was trying to portray A as a fallacious arguer, it would be ad hominem, but we can’t reach this conclusion with the information we are given.
The author misuses the term ad hominem, so just reject all his arguments!