Please: Ad Hominem Doesn’t Mean ‘Insult’

If asked, you might claim you already know that. But think of the times you have actually used the phrase: is it possible you have always thought it was just a smart way of saying “insults aren’t arguments”?

That misconception leads to hair-pullingly irritating proclamations like “if you use ad hominem, you have lost the argument”, which in stupid-speak means “if you insult me, your argument is wrong.” That’s nonsense. Anyone can be an arsehole and still be correct. Lots of smart people are arseholes. I should know [Ed: Obvious joke, consider removing].

What we have is a lot of people — something like 75% of people online that use the phrase, according to my rigorous studies — incorrectly using an esoteric Latin phrase in order to say “insult”.

Is there a better example for “pretentious”?

Let’s take it a step further, and say that your opponent replies to your well reasoned points with nothing but an insult aimed at your brain capacity. Surely in you are correct to dismiss this as an ad-hominem, yes?

Well, hold on. If somebody questions your intelligence after you present an argument, he or she is not offering a counter argument, but is introducing a new thesis altogether, for which your initial argument has become a piece of evidence.

ie. They’re not saying “You thesis is wrong because you are intellectually deficient”, they are saying “You are intellectually deficient because you believe in something that is wrong.”

This might not have been the progression of the discussion you were looking for. It may not be one you want to pursue. But please recognise that “ad hominem” is still not the correct response.

If you are on the receiving end of such an attack, here are three useful methods of response you might like to consider:

• Don’t respond at all — they probably don’t have anything to add to the discussion anyway.
• Continue to argue in favour of your thesis in the hopes that you will change their mind on that point, therefore invalidating their proposal that you are a slushy brained nincompoop.
• Continue the argument on their terms, offering evidence that supports you as an expert in the subject. It doesn’t make you right (avoid “argument from authority”), but if you politely remind them that you are a university professor in the subject it might sufficiently humble them enough to reconsider your previously stated evidence and get you back on track. Use with caution or it could lead into a mudslide.

Either way, don’t drag the meaning of a perfectly useful phrase through the mud just because you are frustrated in your search for a response.