3 1 3
A d H o m i n e m A r g u m e n t s
Explainthepointofeachofthefollowingremarks.Indicatewhethereach
remarkinvolvesanadhominemsilencer,dismisser,denier,ornoneofthese.
Thensaywhethertheargumentprovidesanadequatejustificationforits
conclusion,andwhyorwhynot.
1.TheAmericanTobaccoCompanyhasarguedforyearsthatsmokingis
notreallyunhealthy,butwhatwouldyouexpectthecompanytosay?
It wouldtakethesamepositionregardlessofanyevidence,soIcan’t
trust them.
2.TheJointChiefsofStaffarguethattheU.S.governmentneedstoincrease
itsmilitarybudget,butanopponentresponds,“Well,ofcourse,theywill
wantasmuchmoneyastheycangetfortheirdepartments.Theyalways
askformoremoneyeventhoughmostofthetimetheydon’treallyneed
it.Sothistime,again,theyprobablydon’tneedit.”
3.AfterCongresspassesamilitarydraftduringawar,anopponentsays,“If
membersofCongresswereeligibleforthedraft,theywouldnotvotefor
it.Sowemustnotreallyneedadraft.”
4.Ofcourse,thepartyinpowerisopposedtotermlimits.That’sjust
becausetheywanttostayinpower.
5.Themainoppositiontotaxreductionscomesfrompeoplewhodependon
governmentprogramsfundedbytaxes,sotheycanhardlybeimpartial,
butonlythosewhoareimpartialshouldbeallowedtospeakonsucha
crucialissueforourwholecountry.
6.Themainsupportfortaxreductionscomesfrompeoplewhopaytaxes,so
theirviewscan’tbeareliableindicatorofwhatthebestpolicyis.
7.Veryfewcitizenshavestudiedtheentiretaxcode,andnobody
understandstheeffectoftaxesontheeconomy,sowehavelittlereason
tobelievethemwhentheysaythatpresenttaxpolicieswilldestroythe
economy.
8.Aneconomistcitesrecenttrendsinsalesofrawmaterialsasevidenceof
anupturnintheeconomy,andthenacritic,whodoubtstheeconomist’s
prediction,responds,“Ifyou’resosmart,whyain’tyourich?”
9.Asacriticismofpro-choiceactivists,RonaldReagansaid,“I’venoticed
thateverybodywhoisforabortionhasalreadybeenborn.”
10.Attackingmaleopponentsofabortion,afeministclaims,“Most
opponentsofabortionaremen.”
11.Whenamemberofafraternityarguedforco-edhousesinplaceof
fraternities,acriticresponded,“Whenhequitshisfraternityinprotest
andjoinsaco-edhouse,thenhewillearntherighttocriticizeus.”
12.WhenFredarguesatafraternitymeetingthathishouseshouldadmit
women,anothermemberannounces,“LetmeremindyouallthatFred
heldexactlytheoppositepositionlastyear.”
13.Lethewhoiswithoutsinamongyoucastthefirststone.(John8:7)
Exercise II
97364_ch15_ptg01_307-322.indd 313 15/11/13 11:04 AM
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