The following information was submitted:
Transactions: WSEAS TRANSACTIONS ON BIOLOGY AND BIOMEDICINE
Transactions ID Number: 89-631
Full Name: Michael Michael
Position: Assistant Professor
Age: ON
Sex: Male
Address: 262 Seongsanno, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749
Country: KOREA
Tel: 2123-3939
Tel prefix: 82-2
Fax:
E-mail address: michael_t_michael@yahoo.co.uk
Other E-mails: mmichael@yonsei.ac.kr
Title of the Paper: Critical Engagement: Reflections on the Ad Hominem Fallacy and on Critical Thinking Education
Authors as they appear in the Paper: Michael Michael
Email addresses of all the authors: michael_t_michael@yahoo.co.uk
Number of paper pages: 11
Abstract: A number of critics have recently challenged the traditional view that ad hominem arguments are always fallacious. They argue that we often find ourselves in circumstances of limited time, expertise, and informational resources, and in such it is rational to invoke a proposer's personal characteristics in deciding what to make of their argument. I argue that, as a formal challenge to the traditional view, this misses the point. Arguments against the person are necessarily fallacious not in the context of one deciding what to believe in limited circumstances, but in the context of a debate whose terms are set by the intentions of the participants. Nevertheless, the critics still have a point from a practical point of view. Since there are many contexts in which advancing an ad hominem argument may be legitimate, excessive focus on those where it is not can be misleading and confusing. This is a problem for critical thinking education and calls for a clarification of!
its aims.
Keywords: Ad Hominem, Argument, Critical Thinking, Debate, Fallacy, Rationality
EXTENSION of the file: .doc
Special (Invited) Session: To Be or Not To Be an Equal Member of the Community of Thinkers: Reflections on the Fallaciousness of Ad Hominem and Critical Thinking Education
Organizer of the Session: 642-269
How Did you learn about congress:
IP ADDRESS: 118.33.84.30
