Here is an emaple of ad hominem.
A doctor who is a little bit fat is
studying the way to lose weight healthily, and these days, he publishes a book
summarizing the results of his study. The doctor insists that it’s important to
reconsider our eating habits and do moderate exercise. There are a lot of other
information in the book from the medical or nutritional point of view. However, some people say that his study and
his opinion are wrong. They think his study must not be right because he is a
little fat, and if it is right he should be more slender. In short, they jump
to the conclusion that his study is wrong by just watching his proportion, and
attacked him nevertheless there is possibility that he is fat because of
illness or he doesn’t act up to his theory by himself. There is no connection
between the fact the doctor is fat and the results of his study but some people
are under impression that his study is wrong. We think that’s an example of Ad
hominem.
Erika, you and Sakurako gave an excellent example of Ad hominem applied to your issue.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, people come to the wrong conclusion, not because they dislike or criticize the source of some information (as happens in Ad hominem), but because they think some GOOD quality of him or her shows that the information must be true. An example I can think of was when an American guy who was terribly obese decided to lose weight by eating his meals ONLY at Subway sandwich shop. He succeeded by slimming down a lot, and he became an official spokesperson for Subway. However, what people didn't realize is that he had been ordering only a turkey sandwich with very few condiments on it and, I think, no cheese. So, the calories he was getting was very limited. That was the real reason why he was losing so much weight...that and more exercise. Also, he probably lost weight because he was motivated to become a highly paid spokesperson for Subway. This shows that we shouldn't reach a conclusion because of something we think is bad about a person, or something that we think is particularly good about them (like becoming slim), if that thing has nothing to do with what they are arguing for.
You can read about the Subway guy at...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Fogle