What does ‘ad hominem’ mean?

If you have to write a persuasive essay, give a presentation, or participate in a debate, it’s important that you understand different types of arguments. Understanding fallacies can help you become a better writer, speaker, and debater.

The definition of ‘ad hominem’

In Latin, ‘ad hominem’ means “against the person.” In an ad hominem argument, the person attacks the source of the argument rather than the argument itself. In other words, when the argument makes personal attacks rather than dealing with the subject at hand, it’s ad hominem.

Write with Confidence using Editor

Elevate your writing with real-time, intelligent assistance

Learn more

Ad hominem is a type of logical fallacy. Logical fallacies are arguments that have flaws in their reasoning. Some other popular types of logical fallacies that you may have heard of before include:

• Red herring
• Straw man argument
• Equivocation
• Slippery slope

Understanding logical fallacies is important as they can help you make stronger arguments. Understanding them can also prevent you from becoming prey to unsound influences or opinions.

Types of ad hominem

There are three types of ad hominem that you should be aware of:1

Personal attack ad hominem

In a personal attack ad hominem, the arguer uses a negative trait about their opponent to refute their claims. Here are some examples of a personal attack ad hominem argument:

• “We shouldn’t elect this guy as president. He’s been divorced three times!”
• “Why should we listen to the new CEO’s policies? His suits are ugly and don’t even fit!”
• “We shouldn’t listen to the governor’s strict regulations on pollution. She’s just a tree-hugging environmentalist who doesn’t understand economics.”
• “I don’t care about their opinion on renewable energy. They dropped out of high school and have no understanding of science.”

In these arguments, the arguer uses their opponent’s personal information or details to discredit their stance.

Inconsistency ad hominem

This type of ad hominem means that the arguer rebuts their opponent by claiming their opponent’s opinion is inconsistent with what they’ve said or what they’ve done. It’s also known as “tu quoque,” which means “you also” in Latin. This type of argument attempts to invalidate the opponent by making them seem like a hypocrite.

Here are some examples of an inconsistency ad hominem argument:

• “The governor has no right to tell us to buy electric vehicles. He drives a gas guzzler!”
• “That influencer has some nerve telling us to use reusable straws. I saw her post her drink on social media, and it had a plastic straw!”
• “She told me to drink less alcohol to improve my health, which is ridiculous. She smokes cigarettes!”

Circumstantial ad hominem

This form of ad hominem is when an arguer attempts to discredit their opponent by using the opponent’s circumstances. In other words, they may question their opponent’s motives to discredit them and make them seem biased. Here are some examples of a circumstantial ad hominem argument:

• “That actor just donated a ton of money to charity. He’s just doing it to improve his public image after getting arrested so many times.”
• “My neighbor has been telling me to become more eco-friendly by getting solar panels. He’s just saying that because his wife works for a solar panel company and wants to sell them to me.”
• “The president has been pledging tax cuts for the wealthy. He’s only doing that because he and his friends are wealthy, and he wants to protect them.”

How to respond to ad hominem attacks

There are a few different ways one can respond to an ad hominem attack:

• Call out the insignificance of the criticism. Highlight that the ad hominem has nothing to do with the initial argument. Avoid becoming defensive while calling out a personal attack. You can even ask why their criticism is applicable to the debate. Or you can simply point out that their attack has nothing to do with the argument and share that you won’t be refuting it.
• Ignore the ad hominem. Sometimes, ignoring the personal attack can help continue the actual discussion at hand. Try not to get distracted by what your opponent said and steer back to the initial argument.
• Avoid responding with an ad hominem attack. If you make a personal attack toward your opponent based on their personal attack, the original argument will never get resolved, and you’ll just continue to criticize each other.

Now that you understand more about ad hominem, explore more writing tips that can help you improve your craft.

---