An ad hominem is an attempt to deflect discussion by attacking the character of the person in place of an argument. Not all insults are ad homs; they may be just observations.
If you were to call me a retard for expressing some view with which you disagree, that's merely your opinion. Saying that my argument is worthless because I'm a retard, or English, or male etc, and thus beneath consideration, that's an ad hom.
If you were to call me a retard for expressing some view with which you disagree, that's merely your opinion. Saying that my argument is worthless because I'm a retard, or English, or male etc, and thus beneath consideration, that's an ad hom.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
