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It's a sort of bait and switch tactic. They're relying on the notion that an ad hominem attack is a logical fallacy, which everyone agrees is bad, an invalid me
by TulliusCicero 6y ago
It's a sort of bait and switch tactic. They're relying on the notion that an ad hominem attack is a logical fallacy, which everyone agrees is bad, an invalid method of argument.
Except that they're using a uselessly vague definition of ad hominem that amounts to "any insult", which is extra stupid because we already have a word for that: insult. So why even use the Latin, then, other than to make yourself sound fancy?
- anoncareer0212 6y agoPlease try to be civil - accusing people of lying to win an argument is bad faith and doesn't belong on HN. You may also note that having a "word for that already" is also called a "synonym", and we don't accuse people of bait and switch, misrepresentation, being uselessly vague, and making themselves sound fancy because they say "synonym"
- TulliusCicero 6y ago> accusing people of lying to win an argument is bad faith I didn't do that. I accused someone of using a cheap -- though fairly common -- type of rhetorical trick. It's a form of motte and bailey, which is itself a logical fallacy. Is accusing someone of using a logical fallacy against the rules of HN as well? Would be ironic in the current context.