more on this theme | more from this text
Full Idea
Judicious use of an opponent's assumptions is quite capable of producing a perfectly reasonable ad hominem refutation of the opponent's thesis.
Gist of Idea
An ad hominem refutation is reasonable, if it uses the opponent's assumptions
Source
Verity Harte (Plato on Parts and Wholes [2002], 1.6)
Book Ref
Harte,Verity: 'Plato on Parts and Wholes' [OUP 2002], p.35
| 15838 | The problem with the term 'sum' is that it is singular [Harte,V] |
| 15837 | What exactly is a 'sum', and what exactly is 'composition'? [Harte,V] |
| 15839 | If something is 'more than' the sum of its parts, is the extra thing another part, or not? [Harte,V] |
| 15841 | Mereology began as a nominalist revolt against the commitments of set theory [Harte,V] |
| 15842 | An ad hominem refutation is reasonable, if it uses the opponent's assumptions [Harte,V] |
| 15848 | Mereology treats constitution as a criterion of identity, as shown in the axiom of extensionality [Harte,V] |
| 15858 | Traditionally, the four elements are just what persists through change [Harte,V] |