<Definition of ad hominem attack.

To attack an argument by stating it is untrue and then proceeding to poke holes in it is to disprove the argument.

To attack an argument by stating that the person who proposes it is a liar and a fool is an ad hominem attack. It does nothing to diminish or demolish the argument apart from attacking the character of the person who holds the position.

As we have seen throughout history, one can be evil, stupid, blind, deaf, dumb, and deranged and still be correct on a given issue. Attacking character does nothing to advance one's own views.

The attacked individual may be cowed or angered, but the argument stands, lives and is enhanced by the attacker's apparent lack of evidence to take the argument apart.

There's an old saying, "Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while". The ad hominem attack revels in making sure the world knows about the blind pig, but fails to point out that the acorn is, in fact, a rock with no nourishing qualities.

Or has the blind pig found an acorn after all, and the attacker wants to make sure the world is paying too much attention to his opponent's porcine demeanor to notice?

Regards--
Mary Anne