What is Ad hominem?
'''Ad hominem''' is a [[Latin language|Latin]] word for a type of [[argument]]. It is a word often used in [[rhetoric]]. Rhetoric is the science of speaking well, and convincing other people of your [[idea]]s. Translated to English, ''ad hominem'' means ''against the person''. In other words, when someone makes an ad hominem, they are [[aggression|attacking]] the person they are arguing against, instead of what they are saying. The term comes from the Latin word ''homo'', which means [[human]]. ''Hominem'' is a [[gender]] neutral version of the word ''homo''. In ancient [[Rome]] it referred to all free men, or in other words, all free human beings. Ad hominem can be a way to use [[reputation]], [[rumor]]s and [[hearsay]] to change the minds of other people listening. When a [[social network]] has already excluded or exiled one person, or applied a negative [[wikt:label|label]] to them, this can work more often. It is most of the time considered to be a weak and poor argument. In [[court]]s and in [[diplomacy]] ad hominems are not appreciated. Ad hominems are not wrong every time. For example, when people think that someone can't be [[Trust (social sciences)|trusted]], things that they have said previously can be [[doubt]]ed. == What an ad hominem argument looks like == In [[logic]], a [[wikt:proof|proof]] is something that starts with [[premise]]s, and goes through a few logical [[argument]]s, to reach a [[conclusion]]. === Normal (valid) proof === # All [[human]]s are mortal. # [[Socrates]] is human. # Therefore, Socrates is mortal. === Ad hominem example === # Person A thinks [[abortion]] should be [[illegal]]. # Person A is uneducated and poor. # 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== * [[Fallacy]] for a list of other types of (false) rhetorical arguments. {{Fallacies}} {{Propaganda}} [[Category:Latin words used in Engli