# Debating tactics, false arguments **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357 "2020-10-06T17:29:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/1 "2020-10-06T17:29:26Z")
What is the false argument debate tactics of calling someone a ‘hater’ in order to shut down their viewpoint? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/2 "2020-10-06T17:32:24Z")
Without any context or knowing if that could even be remotely considered a reply to the other person, I assume it wouldn’t be anything more than name calling (ad hominem attack). ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/3 "2020-10-06T17:32:57Z")
There’s fundamental attribution error. Wikipedia also calls it correspondence bias or attribution effect. Meaning: You do not object to my argument on its merits. You object because, in my judgment, you’re the sort of person who would find it objectionable. I wouldn’t really apply _ad hominem_ because that would require a correct judgment of the person. I cannot say “that’s exactly what an Englishman would say” if that person isn’t an Englishman. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/4 "2020-10-06T19:23:28Z")
I understand _ad hominem_ to mean attacking the person, however inaccurately, rather than their argument, so it would be entirely apt in this context. Of course, depending on the argument, it might of itself be evidence that the person concerned is indeed a “hater”, but whether that would enlighten anybody is another matter. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/5 "2020-10-06T21:06:03Z")
Agree w _ad hominem_. The argument by Person A amounts to “Person B is evil and therefore their argument (whatever it is) can be completely discounted.” One could also argue for _non sequitur_. Even if Person A’s assertion about Person B being evil is in fact demonstrably true, that does not, as a matter of logic, ensure that Person B’s argument is fallacious. Even evil people can advance logically valid arguments. And of course if A’s assertion about B isn’t demonstrably true then A’s whole formulation falls apart. At the end of the day, the official roster of logical debate fallacies have little to do with arguments involving moral judgments. The parties may be arguing, but they aren’t debating. As such the OP is asking which sort of pearls look best on swine. My answer: none of them. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/6 "2020-10-07T15:27:43Z")
Isn’t this also a bit of a straw man argument, since calling their opponent a “hater” is very likely misrepresenting their opponent’s viewpoint intentionally? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/7 "2020-10-08T14:10:06Z")
It’s an _ad hominem_, as well as making the accuser sound like an eight-year-old. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/8 "2020-10-08T15:14:37Z")
You could even go with _poisoning the well_, a special case of _ad hominem_. e.g. > Since person B is a hater and therefore Evil, no argument they _could_ make is ever trustworthy. Just ignore everything they say, or assume it’s all a lie. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/9 "2020-10-08T15:25:39Z")
Isn’t the identification of people as ‘hater’ more common in commentary on artistic works (forum discussion of movies, commentary on TV, video, recipes, fashion, media etc) rather than in the arena of formal debate? In that context, it’s not always a false argument - in fact ‘hater’ is nearly synonymous with ‘troll’ - that is; the ‘hater’s’ argument can be (and is best) summarily dismissed on the basis that it is very obviously constructed as inflammatory, pointlessly contrary and designed to divert attention to the hater, rather than attempting to engage in any meaningful discussion or even critique. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debating-tactics-false-arguments/922357/10 "2020-10-09T08:55:10Z")
Come to think of it, this board has anti-‘hater’ rules built into it; threadshitting is very frequently a ‘hater’ behaviour - e.g. someone drops into a discussion about the lyrics of Coldplay’s latest song, just to say how much they hate Coldplay, and nothing else.