Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2018 7:16:28 GMT
The Expression "Ad Hominem Attack" is Hereby Recalled
"Ad hominem attack" is a flawed expression and here's why.
To begin with, the real expression is "argumentum ad hominem", a Latin expression meaning "argument against the person".
Adding the English word "attack" to a Latin phrase is an inaccurate flourish and should be discontinued retroactively. The linguists weren't thinking when they let that one get by.
The "person" referred to in the original expression is the "messenger" who delivers a message disagreeable to the recipient. But rather than address the disagreeable message the receiver of the message takes against the messenger who delivered the message, but there is no "attack" which would be many degrees more brutal than being simply inappropriate and fallacious.
"Ad hominem attack" is a flawed expression and here's why.
To begin with, the real expression is "argumentum ad hominem", a Latin expression meaning "argument against the person".
Adding the English word "attack" to a Latin phrase is an inaccurate flourish and should be discontinued retroactively. The linguists weren't thinking when they let that one get by.
The "person" referred to in the original expression is the "messenger" who delivers a message disagreeable to the recipient. But rather than address the disagreeable message the receiver of the message takes against the messenger who delivered the message, but there is no "attack" which would be many degrees more brutal than being simply inappropriate and fallacious.