What it is
Exploiting resentment toward someone as a reason to reject their position.
In the wild
Vote against it, remember how they treated you.
How to answer it
Set the grievance aside and evaluate the proposal as if a neutral party had made it.
Emotional pressure
Appeal to spite
Also called Argumentum ad odium
In depth
Origin and naming
From the Latin 'argumentum ad odium', 'argument to hatred' — catalogued by logicians including Gary Curtis of the Fallacy Files. It harvests an existing grudge and spends it as if it were a reason against the grudged party's position.
More places it shows up
Of course the city council member opposes it — but remember she fired your cousin, so you know what to say at the hearing.
Don't retweet that thread, however accurate; the author humiliated our community three years ago.
Reject the merger proposal — the CFO who drafted it is the same one who cut your department's budget.
He says the experiment design is flawed, but he once competed with your advisor for a grant, so we can ignore the review.
How to spot it
- Notice when the grievance gets a full rehearsal while the proposal gets none.
- Notice when your vote is being collected as payback, not as judgment.
- Notice when the same idea would be fine from anyone else's mouth.