I'm doing this is because she pitched a ball at my head at practice. :)

Ad Hominem

adj. & n. - ad ho·mi·nem  - ad·hä·m·nem

Ad Hominem is a fallacious argumentative strategy whereby genuine discussion of the topic at hand is avoided by instead attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself.

In latin, Ad Hominem translates to "to the man."

Ad Hominem is when someone attacks the other person instead of the position they are arguing, appealing to their feelings rather than their opinions.

When someone uses Ad Hominem, it's just a personal attack trying to expose another person's faults in anything but the argument.

Continued

Why Use It?

Sometimes people will use Ad Hominem when they begin to lose an argument or when they don't know how to win an argument.

If someone feels they are out of ideas, they can verbally attack the other person in hopes that they will back down.

Why Is It Wrong?

The point of an argument is to find the truth, not to win. You can't invalidate someone's argument based off of an attribute of that person.

Attacking the person rather than their opinion will not build up the argument.

Once upon a time, four children named Jane, Rain, Blaine, and Zane went into the forest to roam.

They took the wrong path and got lost on their way home!

home

death

Since Jane was the only one that could read, she had a way home and they'd be freed!

"This sign says home, the only way to go!"

Scott replied, "But you're a moron, what would you know?"