> I checked from wikipedia what's meant by 'ad hominem' and I found > this definition. > > *ad hominem* appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect >
"ad hominem" literally means "to the man" (sorry girls) and is a rhetorical method that attacks the person rather than their argument. It is often described as a logical fallacy, and is so when used in a formal argument. It may be an emotional appeal, but it must be directed at the interlocutor.
"ad misericordiam" is probably the closest of the classical fallacies to "appealing to emotion".
This is just an attempt to avoid the "ad popularum" fallacy that attempts to conclude something on the basis that many people believe it or the "ad nauseam" fallacy that if something is seen many times it must be true. If a plausible mistake is widely circulated, it is often believed to be true.
Jim -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
