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Ad hominem

Rejecting a claim by attacking the person who makes it instead of addressing the claim.

Published 04 August 2026Updated 04 August 2026

An ad hominem argument substitutes a criticism of a speaker's character, motives, or circumstances for an evaluation of their reasons. Information about a source can matter when credibility is relevant, but it does not by itself show that the source's conclusion is false.

Sources

Fallacies (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / 2024 / Website

Canonical philosophical treatment of fallacy types.