7. Logical Fallacies: Ad Hominem
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Using Jason Lisle's book, Logic and Faith and Discerning Truth, we go through some of the most common logical fallacies that are used in arguments today. #shorts
- 00:05
- Next is the ad hominem fallacy. The phrase ad hominem in Latin means to the man.
- 00:11
- Okay, add to hominem the man. The fallacy is so named because it directs an argument against the person making a claim rather than the claim itself.
- 00:21
- The critic hopes that people will reject his opponent's claim simply on the basis that there is something objectionable about the person making the claim.
- 00:29
- So it's not, they're not objecting to the actual claim itself. They were attacking the person making the claim.
- 00:37
- And we get this all the time. Like if someone, if we say, well, we believe the earth is young.
- 00:43
- Oh, he's a Christian, right? They try to attack the person.
- 00:49
- Oh, he's one of those, those loony tune creationists, right? Rather than addressing the argument, he tries to tear down the man.
- 00:57
- Again, another example. You cannot honestly accept John's claims about politics because he can't even find a job.
- 01:04
- So what's, what's the person doing? He's attacking the man's ability to get a job and saying that that disqualifies him from making a logical statement.
- 01:15
- However, John's inability to find employment is logically irrelevant to the political claim he's making. Okay. Here's a good example.
- 01:23
- That can't be true because you're an idiot, right? Unfortunately we're laughing, but this happens routinely in debates, right?
- 01:36
- You're, you're making attack an attack on the man or they'll, they'll, they'll attack their credentials rather than the argument.
- 01:44
- So if I have a PhD and the other person doesn't, you know, I'll just, you know, you can come out and say, that guy doesn't even have a bachelor's degree.
- 01:54
- Well, that might be true, but is that attacking his argument or is that attacking him and, and, and his, his understanding, right?
- 02:03
- Him as a person. I mean, you don't need a bachelor's degree in order to come to a conclusion scientifically, right?
- 02:10
- No. So again, that's a, that's a trying to tear the man down so that it would stain his argument.