longweekend58 wrote on Sep 29
th, 2019 at 2:50pm:
Bobby. wrote on Sep 29
th, 2019 at 2:45pm:
dear Longy,
Trump is your personal saviour.
Without Trump we would already have 4 new wars in the world.
Bow down to him and keep him in your prayers
that God may guide him to a 2020 4th term.
and in comes the BOOBY idiot.
http://www.ozpolitic.com/articles/logical-fallacies.html#ad%20hominem ad hominem
"You are an idiot, therefore you are wrong."
An ad hominem (short for argumentum ad hominem) is a personal attack. It is by far the most common logical fallacy encountered in online forums. It carries the assumption that by discrediting your opponent, you are also discrediting their argument. However, this would lead to the absurd situation that an argument is correct if one person uses it, and false if another uses it. Inexperienced debaters often fall for this and feel the need to defend their reputation against a troll, otherwise it will invalidate the point they are trying to make in the eyes of others.
An ad hominem is not always a logical fallacy. For example, if someone claims that their point of view on a technical issue carries more weight because they are a scientist then it would be reasonable to point out that they did not complete their PhD. It would not be reasonable to point out that they are divorced, or a socialist.
Merely insulting someone is not technically an ad hominem unless it is done in a way that discredits their argument – however, it is still inappropriate.
The opposite fallacy to ad hominem is ‘appeal to authority,’ claiming that the good qualities of a person making an argument support that argument.