Ad Hominem and Appeals to Motive
What is Ad Hominem and Appeals to Motive?
An ad hominem attacks the character, identity, or motive of the person asking instead of answering the question. An employee raises a concern about the schedule and the manager replies “you just lack drive”; someone questions how a course is organised and hears “are you being paid by someone else?”; a couple in an argument go after each other’s character. Even when the questioner’s motive is doubtful and their manner is poor, the question itself may still be right — whether a claim holds has nothing to do with who made it. “You do it too” — you’re late yourself, so who are you to say — is the same evasion in another form.
Ad Hominem and Appeals to Motive: common mistakes and how to handle them
The right move is to keep judgements about people separate from judgements about facts: settle the claim and deal with the issue first, and appraise the manner afterwards. When you do name a fallacy, describe the step in the reasoning that fails rather than pinning a label on the person.
What the Ad Hominem and Appeals to Motive questions test
telling whether a reply answers the question or attacks the questioner; judging whether a doubtful motive can establish that a claim is wrong; separating criticism of an argument from an attack on a person; choosing the response that pulls the discussion back to the facts.