Ad hominem argument

1
Ad hominem argument

• This fallacy consists in irrelevantly attacking
  someones character rather than their arguments.
• This type of argument is common in politics
• For example Senator Jennings Randolph responded
  to women who argued for the passage of the Equal
  Rights Amendment, calling them a small band of
  bra-less bubbleheads.

2
Why is it wrong?

• It relies on an unwarranted or irrelevant
  premise.
• There is no logical connection between the
  character of a person making an argument and that
  arguments soundness, unless the argument
  concerns a claim about that persons character.

3
Why is it persuasive?

• Likely it is persuasive because we associate the
  general virtue of a person with their
  trustworthiness.
• Since we do not always have the time or the
  ability to examine all of the arguments and facts
  in a matter, we generally rely on our feelings
  about the trustworthiness of the characters who
  give us those arguments.