On 2/24/2014 9:31 PM, l(_dot_)wood(_at_)surrey(_dot_)ac(_dot_)uk wrote:
This ongoing discussion of what constitutes an ad hominem argument is all very
well,
but I'd like to point out that I didn't make an ad hominem argument or
assertion.
I simply asked a question.
The form of your note was not the issue. It was the substance. The
substance was directed at a person and was /about/ that person. It's
the 'about' that made it ad hominem.
By way of example...
If I responded to your note by "just asking a question" such as:
So, Lloyd, did you ever go to school?
or
Didn't your school ever teach you about semantics?
or
Lloyd, where did you learn your group participation skills?
I'd simply be asking a question.
But I'd also be making a pointed ad hominem attack and no reader will
miss that fact.
By contrast, if I sent a note that only contained the above first
paragraph, I'd be focusing on the substance of the issue and would not
be asking or commenting about you as a person. (Yes, my first paragraph
has the word "your" in it. The presence of the word doesn't make the
text ad hominem. The semantics either do or don't. First paragraph:
doesn't. Later questions: do.
d/
--
Dave Crocker
Brandenburg InternetWorking
bbiw.net