Ad Hominem Poisoning The Well

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Ad HominemPoisoning The Well

• Nathan Anderson
• Kaylie Young
• Emily Walker

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Definition

• From Latin to English, Ad Hominem means, against
  the man or against the person
• When a character insults another character by
  making fun of their personal circumstances or
  actions, rather than trying to relate back to the
  main topic.
• 1st - Person A makes their claim
• 2nd - Person B makes attack on person A.
• 3rd - Person As claim is wrong, or unrelated.

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Essentially, the lobster is claiming that because
his opposition is a smaller, weaker shrimp, his
own argument is more promising. However, the
shrimps size is irrelevant to the discussion, as
he could turn out to be a great leader, himself.
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This picture is claiming that the viewer is
wrong, because of unrelated subject matter. In
this case, the unrelated subject matter is the
owl. The speaker is claiming that they have more
authority or justification, solely because of
that. Although the caption is meant to be
sarcastic and comical, it is a valid example of
Ad Hominem.
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Pop Culture

• Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose, so his
  music was worthless.
• Obviously, Jimi Hendrix was a very talented and
  influential musician, whether you liked his music
  or not. The person criticizing him in this case
  is only taking a shot at his personal character
  and morality, specifically with drug use. This is
  completely irrelevant to his musical abilities.

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Pop Culture

• https//www.youtube.com/watch?vvpmFd25tRqofeatur
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• Obamas Administration is criticizing John McCain
  for the amount of houses that he owns. It is
  unrelated to the overall economy, and Obama is
  simply taking a shot at John McCains character
  as a person.

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The Crucible

• Danforth You are in all respects a gospel
  Christian?
• Proctor I am, sir.
• Parris Such a Christian that will not come to
  Church but once a month!
• Danforth Not come to church?
• Cheever He plow on Sunday, sir.
• Danforth Plow on Sunday!

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• Danforth and Parris are denouncing John Proctors
  purity as a Christian, simply because he plows
  his fields on Sunday instead of going to church.
  They are taking shots at his personal character,
  rather than listening to his explanation of the
  matter. They act as if Proctor could not be a
  good Christian simply because of this.

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The Crucible

• Abigail My name is good in the village! I will
  not have it said my name soiled! Goody Proctor is
  a gossiping liar!
• Abigail is attacking Elizabeths character by
  calling her a gossiper and a liar. This is done
  in attempt of taking the suspicion from Abby, and
  placing it on Elizabeth. Abigail really has no
  other way to attack Elizabeth, rather than by her
  character, as shown. Even if the claim is not
  true, she still makes herself appear more
  innocent to the court.

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Citations

• Labossiere, Michael C. "Fallacy Ad Hominem."
  Holocaust Educational Resource. The Nizkor
  Project, 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.
• Wikipedia. "Ad Hominem." Wikipedia, the Free
  Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 10
  Feb. 2012.
• Damer, T. E. "Ad Hominem - Definition and
  Examples of Ad Hominem - Logical Fallacies."
  Grammar and Composition - Homepage of About
  Grammar and Composition. Attacking Faulty
  Reasoning, 2001. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.

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Citations

• "Seven" - TV Ad - YouTube. Perf. Obama, McCain,
  and Narrator. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.
  Obama for America, 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.