John, there are many dimensions to the ad-hominem argument on which
Webster's does not elaborate. In fact, the way the ad hominem attack is most
often used on TT is to demean the opponent for 1) hoping to discredit them
to the point that their arguments seem untrustworthy, 2) to throw a red
herring into the argument to avoid answering the opponent's argument, and 3)
is almost alays a sign of defeat in the argument.
...and "Jezebel" is one such ad-hominem.
While "Barf" for "Barth" is indeed an ad hominem, it is meant to discredit a
third party to which the opponent has referred as an authority. However, it
is not intended to demean the opponent him/herself. Terry did the same by
saying Calvin would make a good Muslim. I do not consider these critical
ad-hominems since they are not intended to hurt or demean other TT members,
although they are still a poor technique in argumentation.
Side bar...in my recent survey of the ad-hominem reference I was surprised
to find that it is, in some types of arguments, regarded as an effective
argument...and that was exclusively in political debate.
Perry
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Re:On Judy once again employing the ad hom (Barf
for Karl Barth)
Date: Sat, 03 Dec 2005 11:12:22 -0500
Total chunky style barnyard. By the same logic, I can call you Jezebel
Taylor and Kevin "Dunce Deegan" and and so on. And "ad hom" has no such
limitations except here on TT. Ad hom is an attack on the person or words
of an individual "rather than an appeal to pure reason" (Webster's
Encyclopedic Dictionary.)
-----Original Message-----
From: Judy Taylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Sent: Sat, 3 Dec 2005 07:53:12 -0500
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Re:On Judy once again employing the ad hom (Barf
for Karl Barth)
Oh Lance, I forgot to mention that I can not take credit for your
descriptive subject line
It is an original Kevinism (if I remember correctly) but after perusing
some of the subject's
theological ideas I found it appropriate.
Remember ad hom is against the person. I don't know the man; my comment
reflects my
response to his theology which has been made very public..
----------
"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you
ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
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