Ad hominem
circumstantial philosophy is one of several ad hominem arguments. It is also referred to as
Ad hominem circumstantial fallacy because it does not truly address the
issue at hand but rather skirts around it by making assumptions based on an individuals personal
circumstances. Circumstantial arguments are very common and appear in a variety of situations.
What you have to remember, however, is that ad hominem circumstantial philosophy is not the best
approach to solving an issue, however common it may be.
Circumstantial
arguments function by putting the focus on the individuals situation and not what that
individual says or proposes. For example, in politics, a politician may say something like, I
will raise taxes on the richest one percent. Then, an opponent might counter that claim by
saying, So show us how much you earn, and how much you pay in taxes, so we can see where you
would stand with this new tax plan. In this case, the opponent is attacking the politician based
on his or her personal circumstancesincome, in this example.
A stronger
argument would be listing reasons why it is or is not productive to raise taxes and separating
those reasons from the politician who proposed the change.
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