Summary: An ad hominem, also known as argumentum ad hominem (Latin: “to the man”), is an attempt to link the validity of a premise to a characteristic or belief of the person advocating the premise. The ad hominem is a classic logical fallacy. The argumentum ad hominem is not always fallacious, for in some instances questions of personal conduct, character, motives, etc., are legitimate and relevant to the issue.

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Ad Hominem arguments attack the source of an argument – not anything within the argument itself.

So Kim argues that “[C] El Taquito is the best Mexican restaurant in town. [P] They make their own tortillas, [P] they only use the freshest ingredients, and [P] everything I’ve had there has been delicious.”

Art replies: “Kim is Japanese, and so we can ignore his opinion on Mexican food.”

Art’s response, obviously, does not address any of the reasons Kim has offered for his claim that El Taquito is the best Mexican restaurant in town – Art has only attacked Kim as the source of the claim.

Danger! Name-calling by itself is not ad hominem. Rather, the attack on the arguer must occur as an ostensible attack on an argument. If no argument is offered – there is no ad hominem (or any other kind of fallacy) at work.

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….ad hominem is one of the most frequently misidentified fallacies, probably because it is one of the best known ones. Many people seem to think that any personal criticism, attack, or insult counts as an ad hominem fallacy. Moreover, in some contexts the phrase “ad hominem” may refer to an ethical lapse, rather than a logical mistake, as it may be a violation of debate etiquette to engage in personalities. So, in addition to ignorance, there is also the possibility of equivocation on the meaning of “ad hominem”.

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