Match each of the following flawed arguments to the abstract description of the Ad Hominem (Source Argument) fallacy it commits.
- The hospital administration should ignore Dr. Mercer's recommendation to purchase the new diagnostic imaging machines. Dr. Mercer's husband is the regional sales director for the manufacturer, so her assessment of their effectiveness is clearly biased and false.Rejects a claim by asserting that the proponent has a vested financial or personal interest in the claim being accepted.
- A local fitness instructor insists that all gym members must strictly avoid consuming refined sugars to achieve their health goals. But we should disregard his dietary advice; he was seen eating a large donut in the parking lot this morning.Dismisses an argument by pointing out that the behavior of the person making the argument is hypocritical or inconsistent with their own conclusion.
- Professor Lin argues that the Bronze Age collapse was caused primarily by a shift in trade routes, citing newly discovered merchant logs. But Lin has a notoriously abrasive personality and was censured for insulting colleagues, so his historical theory is surely incorrect.Attempts to discredit a conclusion by attacking the personal character and professional conduct of the person advancing it, rather than addressing their evidence.
Answer
The hospital scenario matches the vested interest description; the fitness instructor scenario matches the inconsistent behavior description; and the historian scenario matches the personal character attack description.
Each argument commits a specific variation of the source argument flaw. The hospital scenario attacks external motives (circumstantial ad hominem), the gym scenario attacks hypocritical behavior (tu quoque), and the professor scenario attacks personal character (abusive ad hominem).
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Ad Hominem (Source Argument)
Estimated Time:1m 30s