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Abusive ad hominem

Dismissing an argument through insults or negative character claims about its author.

Published 04 August 2026Updated 04 August 2026

An abusive ad hominem tries to defeat a position by portraying the person presenting it as stupid, dishonest, immoral, or otherwise objectionable. The repair is to separate any relevant credibility issue from the evidence and reasoning supporting the claim.

Sources

Fallacies (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / 2024 / Website

Canonical philosophical treatment of fallacy types.