Friday, March 16, 2012

Dear Internetz

Can people please, for the love of gawd, learn what an ad hominem argument is and isn't before accusing someone of engaging in that particular fallacy?

There seems to be a general consensus on Internet, and a new fallacy in and of itself, that an ad hom attack means "you said something mean to me, therefore you're wrong and illogical."

Nope. Sometimes people on Internet are assholes, but that doesn't necessarily make their arguments wrong.

Meanwhile, and ironically, the person accusing others of making "ad homs" will then go on to say something like, "Sorry, I can't take that scholar seriously, she's a Marxist."

Sigh.

Talk about whatever today. Especially if it involves argumentation, fallacies, and corgis.

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