Stop Misusing the Ad Hominem Fallacy

[Funnysterste]

Alex is such a fine, young and intelligent man, he must be right.

[gristlegrinder]

I love these videos that clear things like this up! And you are definitely one of the best people to clear these things up, I thank you

[santacruzman]

I used to have to point this out weekly. Now it's like there is no point - the majority of those who understand it as just another name for an insult will persist in their misunderstanding.
Best of luck with this.

[florencegielen]

I love pointing this out when conspiracy theorists accuse me of Ad hominems after I call them stupid. Makes their little heads explode.

[_ronaldanthony]

mahn, Alex always has an ace up his sleeve and i it. i love his work, i love his arguments. im so thankful for his contents👏🏽👏🏽✊🏽

[brandonfiennies]

Hey Alex. I do love your videos and I have to admit you're the person that made doubt my Christian doctrine and ultimately made me an atheists. I've seen the enlightenment of science/philosophy thanks to you. I've come to realise that one day religion will be viewed as "primitive" we just have to spread the doubt and enlighten others. The world will undoubtedly be a better place without religion. If someone doesn't like my comment just know - I don't give a dam about what you ignorant fools have to say to me... Enjoy your day!

[TheOnlyStonemason]

Generally speaking the ad hominem is implied.

[loyalty]

"The ad hominem is you're stupid, therefore you're wrong. NOT you're wrong, therefore you're stupid."

[DarkstarArchangel]

There should be more videos calling out people misusing fallacy-labels.

I've encountered someone who tried to accuse me of a fallacy to defend their lies.
I give them 3 relevant reasons why they are wrong.
But then they ignore my response by just labelling it as a "shotgun argumentation".

Just because a response is a list doesn't automatically make it a fallacy nor does it magically make the response incorrect. The person claiming "shotgun fallacy" was basically a pseudo-intellectual way of saying "your response is TOO LONG, so YOU ARE WRONG". Despite the fact they are using fallacy-labels to defend their blatant lies. Throwing fallacy names does not magically turn your lies into true statements.

[fixedguitar]

“I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you, Mr. O’Connor.”

[Tom-mqmc]

Loved the original video, loved the clip 👍

[plantpowered]

ok, i got it: before calling someone an asshole, add these thee words in the beginning, like, "You're wrong, therefore..." and it should be ok, totally legit. If he disagrees, keep the link on this video at hands )

[laurajarrell]

Cosmic Skeptic, yes, this was one of your clips, and I liked Professor Dave's take on them, too. As I said before, there can't be too much education of real facts on line. It takes many voices, many styles. 👍💞✌😷🎃

[miguelthealpaca]

The "therefore you're wrong" part is also crucial because if someone thinks somebody's argument is LIKELY wrong because that somebody is dumb or a fraud, that's not an ad hominem fallacy. They're not saying they are definitely wrong because they're stupid or a liar but they don't trust their argument because of their character. It's like not trusting information based on its source.

We do the opposite of this more often when we trust that an expert is correct. We're not committing a fallacy, because we're not saying that the argument comes from an expert, therefore it is correct. We're saying that the expert is likely to be correct, so we put our trust in them.

We may still be committing an error in where we place our trust, however, depending on various factors.

[falsificationism]

The way online (esp. Twitter) discourse works though, the "therefore" bit is almost always implied. "X is a fraud" really does mean "X is a fraud, therefore you should dismiss her argument."

[maximilianokallens]

Isn't that what Mohammed Hijab had to do to discredit Alex in front of an audience, when he ran out of arguments??🙁

[Eszter]

So... If someone were to say that my argument is invalid because I have an anime profile pic or on fb I have a 'fake profile' then it is a fallacy

[visionartstudio]

So clear and easy to understand! Thanks!

[Anglomachian]

Martymr did a little Series like this pointing out the incorrect way to identify fallacies. Always god to point this stuff out.

[mklein]

I broken clock is still right twice a day