Logical Fallacies: Ad Hominem Attacks and the Sub-Types of Tu Quoque and Poisoning the Well

Introduction

In my third installment of my series on Logical Fallacies, we’re going to cover the “ad hominem” attack along with several sub-types.

What’s an Ad hominem?

Ad hominem is a Latin phrase that literally translates as, “to the person” (and because it is in a language other than English, when using it in an English sentence it should be italicized). This is apropos because the fallacy is when one attacks a person making claims rather than the claims themselves — in other words, they address their arguments “to the person” rather than the claims. Because this is a fairly general fallacy, there are several sub-types.

Example of the Ad hominem, Abusive

There is no real standard ad hominem that I could think of in terms of creationism, intelligent design, UFOs, 2012 doomsday people, Planet Xers, astrologers, and all the rest of the pseudosciences that I’ve addressed on this blog. Really, the ad hominem is usually a spur-of-the-moment type of fallacy and generally used when one is just plain annoyed and wishes to use malice.

A contrived example would be the following situation: A die-hard UFO=aliens believer is debating with the virtuous skeptic when, frustrated, the UFO believer cries out, “Well of course you don’t believe me, you just believe whatever those scientists tell you to believe.”

Now, of course, this can easily go both ways. For example: A skeptic walking down the street sees a sign for a Psychic / Palm Reader / Tarot Card Reader / Astrologer, sees someone walk in, and obnoxiously declares, “Yeah, you’re gonna trust her — she doesn’t even have a real job!” The skeptic has just addressed the person rather than the actual claims.

Example of the Ad hominem, Circumstantial

This variety of ad hominem, rather than direct character assassination, uses circumstances rather than the person. For example, to pick on the Noble Skeptic, a skeptic might claim of a seriologist (someone who studies crop circles), “Well of course they believe crop circles are caused by aliens. That’s because they run a tour company and charge lots of money to bring people to see the formations.”

Assuming the seriologist in question actually does this, then the skeptic has just used the circumstantial ad hominem where they have drawn an albeit valid link that may be some of the seriologist’s motivation, it still does not address the actual claims of crop circle believers.

Sub-Type: Tu quoque

Lots of Latin in this blog post! Tu quoque literally translates as, “You, too.” This form of ad hominem attack, rather than being used initially, often follows one lobbied against its user. It’s really the quite childish playground taunt of, “Oh yeah! Well so do you!”

To continue my above example of the seriologist, once the Noble Skeptic has used such a logically fallacious circumstantial ad hominem, the seriologist may come right back with, “But you charge admissions to your lectures against aliens, crop circles, and UFOs!” In other words, they’ve just pointed out that the very ad hominem used against them – financial ties to the cherished belief – can also apply to the skeptic.

But again, the actual claim itself of whether crop circles are caused by aliens has not been addressed.

Sub-Type: Poisoning the Well

“Poisoning the Well” is a sub-type of ad hominem where, rather than outright attacks on a person or group, the attack is subtle and tries to get the listeners to distrust the person or group being attacked. They have been, effectively, “poisoned.”

An example of this that is often used by both creationists but much more so by the Intelligent Design proponents is calling pretty much anyone who disagrees with them a “Darwinist,” “Evolutionist,” or even “Evilutionist.” In other words, without addressing any of the claims themselves, they have already biased their audience against those people by giving them a seemingly unfavorable characteristic.

The Inverse ad hominem

I’ll address this more in my upcoming post on the Argument from Authority as a sub-sub-sub-…-sub type of that, but suffice to say here that the inverse ad hominem is just what it would seem to be. But rather than used to argue against someone or something, it’s used to try to give undue support for their position.

For example: “That Creationist on-stage is much better dressed than his opponent. He must really know what he’s doing to show up like that.”

Or, in every-day life, when walking down the street people will usually give much more sidewalk space to someone dressed in a tuxedo, evening gown, or priestly garb than a person walking in sweat pants and a t-shirt.

Final Thoughts

Everyone uses ad hominem attacks. I’ve used them, you’ve used them, we’ve all used them. But, it’s an argument ad populum (again, future post!) to say that because everyone uses them, they’re a good way of arguing. They’re so often used in politics that most people have turned away from politicians and created the joke of “politicks = poly + ticks, or “many” + “blood-sucking insects.” Of course this, in itself, is an ad hominem.

I should note, by the way, that something is only an ad hominem IF it is used as an argument in itself. Just using it in an argument or on the school playground to call someone a “jerk” for example is NOT an ad hominem. However, the poisoning the well fallacy is not as subject to this restriction.

And before some commenter points it out, I used ad hominems and inverse ad hominems throughout this post, such as the “Noble Skeptic” or “die-hard UFO=aliens believer.” Yes, I know I used them. I did it on purpose. Thank you for not using your own tu quoque in the Comments section.

Horoscopes … Ah, the Joys of Not Thinking

Introduction

There isn’t any introduction to this post other than to say I am still not going to directly address astrology yet, but I just watched something that deserves to be quoted.

Cybill

Do any of you remember that short-lived, 4-season series from the mid 1990s called Cybill? I do … I used to watch it with my mom, and recently I discovered that it has come out on DVD. My favorite character was not the title character, but her best friend, Maryanne, played by Christine Baranski. I’ve been going through the series and just started season 2 episode 22, “Pal Zoey.”

In it, Cybill’s cousin from Arkansas comes to town to be in The Price is Right show. Why? Well …

Cousin: Last week, my horoscope said, “Libra, the time is right.”

Maryanne: So, you plan your life around a line in the newspaper. Bravo. [Cousin nods.] Relieves you of all that pesky thinking.

Cousin: I’ll say.

Final Thoughts

Well, that about wraps it up.

Astrologer Arrested in Sri Lanka for Predicting President’s Ejection

Introduction

This is what blogging is all about – responding to current news, and offering my own never-humble opinion about said news. But, this is really only one out of a half dozen or so posts on current news items. Alas.

Anyway, this post is about this BBC News article, “Sri Lanka Astrologer Is Arrested.”

I have so far avoided writing any posts – save my 2009 predictions – about astrology, since that’s a whole different can of worms than what I’ve addressed so far and would require significant background research on my part that I have not already done. But, I can still respond to current news on the subject.

News Article

Sri Lanka is a relatively small country in the Indian Ocean, just off the eastern coast of India. It boasts a population of about 20.2 million people. The country’s government is a “Democratic Socialist Republic,” meaning that it is fairly democratic, but the politics lean towards socialism. The current president is Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Of interest to this blog, the country is one of several in the world where the pseudoscience of astrology – the belief that the stars and planets can and do govern our personalities and world and local events – is taken very seriously on the national stage. It is taken so seriously that many of Sri Lanka’s politicians have their own personal astrologers to tell them when to do anything important (does this ring a bell for anyone regarding Nancy Reagan?). This includes the president. And that’s what got Chandrasiri Bandara arrested.

Bandara “announced last week that the government would flounder in September and October because of political and economic problems. … [He] told an opposition meeting that the prime minister would take over as president on 9 September and the opposition leader would become prime minister.” This is despite the president’s high approval ratings and the president’s victory against the Tamil Tigers, which brought an end to almost 26 years of civil war.

As a result, he was arrested on Wednesday, June 24, to “investigate the basis of his prediction,” according to police.

One may ask what the basis is of his prediction. The answer: He “predicted that a planetary change on 8 October will be inauspicious for parliament and the government may not be able to contain rising living costs – a forecast which correspondents say has already been made by private economists.”

What’s Wrong with This Picture

I have three basic problems with this. The first is that this guy got arrested for saying something that everyone else already says. I don’t think the government arrested every economist who made the same forecast.

The second problem I have with this is – even if astrology were true – this is a basic freedom of speech issue where, at least in most Western countries, would be covered fully.

The third is that astrology is not a science. There is no physical reason for any of its fundamental ideas to hold true (how can a random collection of stars that looks one way only from a certain vantage point in the universe have any sway over someone’s personality?). It has never made predictions about things at above-chance level that could not have been predicted by looking at real trends (such as in the case with Mr. Bandara). And yet, a man was arrested for it because he has predicted the downthrow of a government. If every person in America who predicted the downthrow of its government were arrested, our prison system would likely hold well over a quarter of the country’s population.

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, this guy should have been ignored. If nothing else, perhaps ridiculed. Or, if nothing better, perhaps it should have been pointed out that this guy is following what the economists are saying and is probably going for a fairly likely “hit” while adding his own political bias.

Oh, and I guess I’ll take the really low-hanging fruit: If he’s an astrologer and predict all this stuff, he really should’ve seen this coming.

Psychic Predictions for 2009

Psychic Predictions

I have studied the stars, felt the metaphysical forces that flow through the cosmos, and they have all led me to the following psychic predictions for 2009:

(1) There will be a UFO sighting in or near a major US city during 2009. The government will have no official confirmation of it being a UFO.

(2) Despite a lot of pressure from certain groups (such as MUFON) and the apparent interests of his transition chief, John Podesta, Barack Obama will not do any UFO disclosure once he becomes president.

(3) Assuming the Large Hadron Collider actually becomes operational, there will be a significant earthquake that will cause damage when it does. And within 2 weeks, there will be at least a magnitude 6 earthquake.

(4) Towards the end of March and through the first weeks of April, the sun will swallow an entire planet, though it will miraculously emerge intact by May.

(5) Scientists will still not be able to explain why constants, such as gravity, the speed of light, and the mass of quarks are what they are from first principles, leaving open the possibility that the universe was designed by an intelligent being.

(6) People will continue to believe that the planet Niburu is going to throw Earth out of orbit in 2012, despite those annoying scientists who say otherwise.

(7) On January 7, February 3, March 3, March 30, April 26, June 20, July 17, August 14, September 10, and November 3, the great reflective orb in the heavens will occlude some Sisters from sight.

(8) 2009 will be another year for some amazing new discoveries in astronomy, especially in the fields of extrasolar planet research and large-scale cosmology.

(9) Much fewer sunspots than had been predicted will continue to confuse astronomers, and there will be some people who link it to global temperatures.

Horoscopes

Aries: You will find that anger does not work well in places of employment, except when it is able to accomplish your goals.

Taurus: Your headstrong nature may lead you astray unless you temper it with your more pragmatic side.

Gemini: You found 2008 economically depressing, but if you’re careful and plan wisely, you can recover in 2009.

Cancer: If you pay close attention to your home life, you will find 2009 to be very rewarding domestically.

Leo: 2009 is not the best year for you to strike out on your own. Keep your attention-seeking tendencies in check and you will find your efforts rewarded.

Virgo: This is a year where your ability to help others should flourish.

Libra: Keep trying to be less lazy this year, especially in your procrastination. Doing so will help in all aspects of your life in 2009.

Scorpio: When someone does something you don’t like or disagree with, don’t feel as afraid to speak up. As long as you’re calm and rational about it, your ideas should be met with appreciation.

Sagittarius: Seek out new things in 2009. Find a new hobby, make a new friend, etc., and you will be rewarded for the experience.

Capricorn: Remaining practical and pragmatic in this year of change will help ground you throughout 2009.

Aquarius: Take a chance this year – your originality in the work place may be rewarded.

Pisces: You may find a friend trying to confide in you this year, and if you let your own sensitive, empathic side come through, your friendship will deepen and they will be very appreciative.