Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy Examples in Media, Real Life, Politics, News & Ads.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy Definition

Ad hominem is a Latin phrase that means “to the man.”.  It refers to attacking an opponent’s character rather than their argument or ideas.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem is used in logic to refer to any argument that attacks an opponent instead of attacking his or her position.

An example of this would be if someone said, “I’m not going to listen to your opinion because you’re stupid.”

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy Examples

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy example in Commercial

Examples of Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy in Commercial:

Ad hominem is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone attacks the person instead of attacking their argument.

In this commercial, the narrator tells us about how he used to be overweight and unhappy with his appearance. He then goes on to say that after using one product, he was able to lose weight and feel better about himself.

This is an example of circumstantial ad hominem because it does not attack the person’s argument but rather attacks them as a person.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy Real-Life Examples

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy in Real Life:

• The person’s argument is not valid because they are a member of the KKK
•  The person’s argument is not valid because they have been convicted of theft in the past.
• The person’s argument is not valid because they have a history of mental illness.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Examples in Media

Examples of Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy in Media: 

The media uses ad hominem attacks to discredit their opponents.

 For example, if someone is a Trump supporter, the media will call them racist or sexist.

This is an example of circumstantial ad hominem because it’s not about what they’re saying but who they are and how that affects their credibility.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy Examples in Advertising

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy in Advertising: 

Advertisers often use the fallacy of ad hominem in order to persuade their audience.

They will attack a person’s character rather than addressing the merits of their argument.

This is done by criticizing them or trying to make people think they are not credible experts.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy in Politics

Examples of Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy in Politics:

This fallacy can be committed when someone responds to an argument by saying something like, “you’re just saying that because you’re a Democrat,” instead of addressing the substance of what was said.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy examples in Movies

Examples of Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy in Movies:

•  A character is being interviewed about a crime they committed, and their voice sounds like it was recorded on an old cassette tape.
• The interviewer keeps asking the same question over and over again, which makes the interviewee seem incompetent.
• The interviewer asks leading questions that make it seem like he already knows what happened.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Examples in Literature

Examples of Circumstantial Ad Hominem  Fallacy in Literature:

• The author of this article is a liar.
• This argument is invalid because the person making it has a bias against dogs.
• The speaker’s opinion should not be trusted because they are an alcoholic

Circumstantial Ad Hominem Examples in News

Examples of Circumstantial Ad Hominem Fallacy in News:

The article is written in a condescending tone.

The author of the article has an agenda and will do anything to push it forward, even if that means attacking the other person’s character.

Related Resources:

Black and White Fallacy Examples 

Black and White Fallacy Examples

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