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Google's definition of disingenuous: dis·in·gen·u·ous ˌdisənˈjenyo͞oəs/ adjective adjective: disingenuous not candid or sincere, typically by pretending t

Google's definition of disingenuous: dis·in·gen·u·ous ˌdisənˈjenyo͞oəs/ adjective adjective: disingenuous not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does. synonyms: insincere, dishonest, untruthful, false, deceitful, duplicitous, lying, mendacious; hypocritical "that innocent, teary-eyed look is just part of a disingenuous act" Calling it an ad-hominem is certainly not off base. Due to some linguistic anomaly, a lot of people seem not to realize that this word has a significant component that indicts the character of its target. Sometimes it seems to be used in an ad-hominem manner, and sometimes it seems to be used in ignorance of that component of definition of the word. However, it's often impossible to tell with certainty whether the person is using the word to intentionally attack someone's character or not. In any case, using the word can be incendiary. The word 'misleading' can generally be substituted in cases where one wishes to avoid the character attack.

klez 12y ago
Ok, but I see the adjective applied to the argument, not to the person who wrote it. If he said "You are lying" it still wouldn't be an ad-hominem in my book. From wikipedia[0]: > An ad hominem [...], means responding to arguments by attacking a person's character, rather than to the content of their arguments By saying his points are disingenuous he's not attacking the person's character. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
- dragonwriter 12y ago
  > I see the adjective applied to the argument Its a descriptor of character/attitude/motive, which is a feature of the person providing the argument in relation to the act of providing the argument, not a feature of the content of the argument.

klez 12y ago

Ok, but I see the adjective applied to the argument, not to the person who wrote it. If he said "You are lying" it still wouldn't be an ad-hominem in my book. From wikipedia[0]: > An ad hominem [...], means responding to arguments by attacking a person's character, rather than to the content of their arguments By saying his points are disingenuous he's not attacking the person's character. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem

dragonwriter 12y ago
> I see the adjective applied to the argument Its a descriptor of character/attitude/motive, which is a feature of the person providing the argument in relation to the act of providing the argument, not a feature of the content of the argument.