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Full Idea
It is a good argument ad hominem, if it can be shewn that a first principle which a man rejects, stands upon the same footing with others which he admits, …for he must then be guilty of an inconsistency.
Gist of Idea
An ad hominem argument is good, if it is shown that the man's principles are inconsistent
Source
Thomas Reid (Essays on Intellectual Powers 6: Judgement [1785], 4)
Book Ref
Reid,Thomas: 'Inquiry and Essays', ed/tr. Beanblossom /K.Lehrer [Hackett 1983], p.261
A Reaction
Good point. You can't divorce 'pure' reason from the reasoners, because the inconsistency of two propositions only matters when they are both asserted together. …But attacking the ideas isn't quite the same as attacking the person.
| 23653 | If you can't distinguish the features of a complex object, your notion of it would be a muddle [Reid] |
| 23655 | An ad hominem argument is good, if it is shown that the man's principles are inconsistent [Reid] |
| 23654 | In obscure matters the few must lead the many, but the many usually lead in common sense [Reid] |
| 23656 | The structure of languages reveals a uniformity in basic human opinions [Reid] |
| 23657 | The existence of tensed verbs shows that not all truths are necessary truths [Reid] |
| 23660 | The theory of ideas, popular with philosophers, means past existence has to be proved [Reid] |
| 23658 | Consciousness is an indefinable and unique operation [Reid] |
| 23659 | If someone denies that he is thinking when he is conscious of it, we can only laugh [Reid] |
| 23662 | The existence of ideas is no more obvious than the existence of external objects [Reid] |
| 23661 | We are only aware of other beings through our senses; without that, we are alone in the universe [Reid] |
| 23663 | There are axioms of taste - such as a general consensus about a beautiful face [Reid] |