The ad hominem fallacy isn’t really a fallacy the way it’s used most of the time in everyday life. For example, in court, if a witness can be shown to have lied about some aspects of a case, that fact can be used to impeach his credibility about other aspects. Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. There is no fallacy here.
The thing is, most arguments aren’t logical syllogisms that you can verify for yourself once the logic has been laid out. Most of the time you are putting trust in the integrity of the person who is making a claim; for example that he done research that you don’t have the time or resources to do yourself, and that he is representing the results of that research fairly. If it can be shown that this person is in fact an idiot, or a habitual liar, well that really does cast everything he has told you into doubt. As one example, if someone tells me he believes in chemtrails, I’m much less likely to take anything else he has to say seriously, even if he has something useful to say about an unrelated matter.
That why so much of our public debate is ad hominem. Bad people can be bad, idiots can stupid, and nevertheless still be right about something. Convincing people that your opponents are bad or stupid is generally an easier to win an argument than demonstrating that they are wrong.
I’m with you JB. I don’t trust any fooker least of all myself. Merry Solstice to you all, I have just stuffed myself with chicken chilly madsala, garlic naan bread and special fried rice after drinking 5 pintd of strong dark porter ale…I had monkey sex prior to the feast, thus all my primary thirsts have been quenched…peace brothers…..
Jesus & Mo (the characters) are absurd, blinkered, and oddly very sweet. J&M (the cartoon) is brilliant: sharp, delicious, irresistible. Salman Rushdie
Jesus and Mo cartoons are wonderfully funny and true. Richard Dawkins
Jesus and Mo make the world a better place, bless their little hearts. Ophelia Benson
In a world defined by outrage and offence and liberal spinelessness, Jesus and Mo is a treasure, whose value we should never fail to recognize. Read them. Laugh. And think. Kenan Malik
The brilliant, celebrated, freaking hilarious atheist comic strip ... Greta Christina
...rays of sanity in a befuddled world. Keri Hulme
The liveliest depictions of Muhammad currently available... Malise Ruthven
J & Mo is the funniest and most consistently thought-provoking cartoon strip on the Net. In a saner world, it would run in a major newspaper. Nelson Jones, Heresy Corner
Consistently amusing, frequently thought-provoking and often heart-warming. New Humanist
Jesus & Mo is one of the most wonderful things on the internet.. JT Eberhard
Wittily captures much of the absurdity of religious apologetics. Mano Singham
I love jesusandmo.net cartoons - witty and sharp! Katha Pollitt
Often hilarious, frequently wry, these cartoons do what all the best cartoons do: they tell the truth through humour. Terry Sanderson, NSS President
...a wonderfully acid British cartoonist... Nick Cohen
I love the scrappy mockery of Jesus and Mo. Freedom of speech
includes the freedom to mock any person, any thing, any activity, and
any belief -- and J&M stands up for this unflinchingly Richard Stallman
...empowering, important and deeply progressive, not to mention hilarious... Council of Ex-Muslims
November 24, 2005
Happy Xmas from all of us here at the workhouse . . . .
Correct use of “ad hominem”! That’s rare.
Happy Christmas to all! Remember the reasoning for the seasoning.
and happy Christmas from those of us who have left the workhouse but can’t stop working….
The ad hominem fallacy isn’t really a fallacy the way it’s used most of the time in everyday life. For example, in court, if a witness can be shown to have lied about some aspects of a case, that fact can be used to impeach his credibility about other aspects. Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. There is no fallacy here.
The thing is, most arguments aren’t logical syllogisms that you can verify for yourself once the logic has been laid out. Most of the time you are putting trust in the integrity of the person who is making a claim; for example that he done research that you don’t have the time or resources to do yourself, and that he is representing the results of that research fairly. If it can be shown that this person is in fact an idiot, or a habitual liar, well that really does cast everything he has told you into doubt. As one example, if someone tells me he believes in chemtrails, I’m much less likely to take anything else he has to say seriously, even if he has something useful to say about an unrelated matter.
That why so much of our public debate is ad hominem. Bad people can be bad, idiots can stupid, and nevertheless still be right about something. Convincing people that your opponents are bad or stupid is generally an easier to win an argument than demonstrating that they are wrong.
I’m with you JB. I don’t trust any fooker least of all myself. Merry Solstice to you all, I have just stuffed myself with chicken chilly madsala, garlic naan bread and special fried rice after drinking 5 pintd of strong dark porter ale…I had monkey sex prior to the feast, thus all my primary thirsts have been quenched…peace brothers…..