Philosophy Now Forum

Hobbes' Choice wrote: Thanks for clearing that up.

No problem.

Immanuel Can wrote:It's a way of escaping an idea a person doesn't like, just like all ad hominems.

Talking of which: what's this ontological argument that I am too stupid to understand?

thedoc » Sat Jun 11, 2016 3:42 pm

Could someone explain what hostility and abuse have to do with philosophy? There seems to be a lot of it on this forum, and mostly I can ignore it but occasionally it intrudes into a thread that I want to read. I understand that ad hominems are part of logic, as a fallacy, and logic is part of philosophy, so sometimes people make that mistake and often it is on purpose.

Part of the hostility is due to frustration from other's ignorance.
And despite repeated reminders of matters of fact, people fail to take on the most straightforward thing you say.
One example that pisses me off is the tendency of people to use the phrase ad hominem when what they are talking about is an ordinary insult. The meaning of ad hom is not an opinion.

The other realm of frustration is having clearly expressed an opinion, people call you up on your right to express that opinion rather than provide good counter arguments. Just contradicting you or carrying on as if you'd not said it and does not need to be dealt with is another failing.

We all do it to different degrees.

For example IC rubbished an argument I was making on free will by saying that a"determined agent": was a contradiction in terms. I called "rubbish" but did not back up my claim. He is in fact wrong. [ thing that takes an active role or produces a specified effect.] For example yeast and sugar are the agents necessary for fermentation, and a spark is the agent necessary for combustion are perfectly good uses of the word. If any thing determined agent is a tautology, not as he suggests an oxymoron. But as the post was some length I did not take the trouble.

For Hobbes' sake, will everyone please switch to insulting others, and stop using ad hominems?

Already on it.

Now that's what I call leadership and forethought, uwot!