No, Brian's criticism or speculation about a person does not constitute Argumentum Ad Hominem. These logical terms have a specific meaning (described quite well in the Wikipedia article) and it irks me to see "Ad Hominem" used to mean "insult" or "criticism".
On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 12:07 PM, Gordon Joly gordon.joly@pobox.com wrote:
On 25/06/12 12:02, brian.mcneil@wikinewsie.org wrote:
You have to wonder, is surrounding himself with blithering idiots the only way David Cameron escapes looking like an utter prat?
I would say that was an "ad hominem" remark.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
Good night!
Gordon
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