Nathan Anderson
Kaylie Young
Emily Walker

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From Latin to English, Ad Hominem means, “against the man” or “against the person”
When a character insults another character by making fun of their personal circumstances or actions, rather than trying to relate back to the main topic.
 1 st - Person A makes their claim
2 nd - Person B makes attack on person A.
3 rd - Person A’s claim is wrong, or unrelated.

Essentially, the lobster is claiming that because his opposition is a smaller, weaker shrimp, his own argument is more promising.
However, the shrimp’s size is irrelevant to the discussion, as he could turn out to be a great leader, himself.

This picture is claiming that the viewer is wrong, because of unrelated subject matter. In this case, the unrelated subject matter is the owl. The speaker is claiming that they have more authority or justification, solely because of that. Although the caption is meant to be sarcastic and comical, it is a valid example of Ad Hominem.

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“Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose, so his music was worthless.”
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Obviously, Jimi Hendrix was a very talented and influential musician, whether you liked his music or not. The person criticizing him in this case is only taking a shot at his personal character and morality, specifically with drug use. This is completely irrelevant to his musical abilities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpmFd25tR qo&feature=player_embedded
Obama’s Administration is criticizing John
McCain for the amount of houses that he owns. It is unrelated to the overall economy, and Obama is simply taking a shot at John
McCain’s character as a person.

Danforth : You are in all respects a gospel Christian?
Proctor : I am, sir.
Parris : Such a Christian that will not come to Church but once a month!
Danforth : Not come to church?
Cheever : He plow on Sunday, sir.
Danforth : Plow on Sunday!

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Danforth and Parris are denouncing John
Proctor’s purity as a Christian, simply because he plows his fields on Sunday instead of going to church. They are taking shots at his personal character, rather than listening to his explanation of the matter. They act as if Proctor could not be a good Christian simply because of this.

Abigail : My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!
Abigail is attacking Elizabeth’s character by calling her a gossiper and a liar. This is done in attempt of taking the suspicion from Abby, and placing it on Elizabeth. Abigail really has no other way to attack Elizabeth, rather than by her character, as shown. Even if the claim is not true, she still makes herself appear more innocent to the court.

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Labossiere, Michael C. "Fallacy: Ad Hominem."
Holocaust Educational Resource . The
Nizkor Project, 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.
Wikipedia. "Ad Hominem." Wikipedia, the Free
Encyclopedia . Wikipedia, 27 Jan. 2012.
Web. 10 Feb. 2012.
Damer, T. E. "Ad Hominem - Definition and
Examples of Ad Hominem - Logical
Fallacies." Grammar and Composition -
Homepage of About Grammar and
Composition . Attacking Faulty Reasoning,
2001. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.

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. Perf. Obama,
McCain, and Narrator.
Obama for
America, 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.