What is an ad hominem?

[_haleray]

Some other arguing tactics are:
The Straw Man defense
This is where you erect an entirely false premise as a primary argument, then flailing away at that false premise as it were, in fact, a valid argument. This can range from the simply silly, like Mormons aren’t Christian, to the much more sophisticated, like saying that the early Church believed in the Trinity. (most Gospel scholars say this is not completely true.)
Red Herring
A red herring argument attempts to draw attention away from the main point of discussion in order to change the subject. Often referred to as the “bait-and-switch,” or the “flip-flop,” it usually occurs when someone gets backed into a corner and cannot respond to rebuttal, or when they attempt to keep the discussion changing so fast that none of the accusations can be isolated and addressed directly.

[_Gazelam]

Pirate,

You used the word "inferiorate". Now I know what "inferior" is, and I know what "infuriate" is, but is inferiorate really a word?

I wasn't in college for very long, so I have to ask....

Gaz

[_Imwashingmypirate]

Oh, what do you know.

Google is great, I love it.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4SKPB_enGB252GB252&q=inferiorate+

Sorry, I am in a bit of a funny mood today, HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA. Been super giddy the past 24ish hours.

It was a word spoofed from my brain, I speak intuitively. It might not necesarily be a real word but if it makes sense, who cares?



HEhehehehehehehehe. Not really, but cute, heh?

Pirate.

[_Gazelam]

Actually I like that word. I may just add it to my vocabulary !

[_TrashcanMan79]

So I haven't actually read this thread, but assuming that it actually is about ad hominem, some of you may find a recent article from Scientific American interesting:

Character Attacks: How to Properly Apply the Ad Hominem