# Ad hominem

*Also called: Attack on the person*

- **Cluster:** Attacks on the source — Judging the speaker instead of the argument
- **Page:** https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/ad-hominem/
- **In Arabic:** https://fallacy.wiki/ar/fallacy/ad-hominem.md
- **Licence:** CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## What it is

Rejecting an argument by attacking the character or circumstances of the person making it.

## In the wild

> His budget analysis is wrong because he failed math in school.

## How to answer it

Restate the argument without naming its author and ask whether it still holds.

## Origin and naming

From the Latin 'argumentum ad hominem', 'argument to the person'. Named by philosophers to mark a rebuttal that answers the speaker rather than the speaking. It is as old as rhetoric itself.

## More places it shows up

- Don't take her climate research seriously — she used to work in the oil industry.
- Of course he supports the new tax code; he stands to profit from it, so his analysis must be wrong.
- You can't trust his essay on food policy; I've heard he's a slob in person.
- Her solution to the committee gridlock may be sound, but let's not forget she hasn't chaired anything yet.

## How to spot it

- Notice when the reply names who said it before what was said.
- Notice when the answer would be the same even if the argument changed completely.
- Notice when the case against the person gets the loud airtime, and the case against the claim goes unanswered.

## Nearby

- [Tu quoque](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/tu-quoque.md)
- [Poisoning the well](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/poisoning-well.md)
- [Genetic fallacy](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/genetic.md)

## Read more

- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem)
- [The Fallacy Files](https://fallacyfiles.org/adhomine.html)

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From fallacy.wiki — a bilingual field guide to 91 logical fallacies, published by phi holdings. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse freely with attribution to fallacy.wiki.