tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post4227203665870211188..comments2024-03-28T17:55:31.180-04:00Comments on The Gossips of Rivertown: No Name-Calling WeekCarole Osterinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16010623982526286408noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-88638746754200518662013-01-22T20:32:31.433-05:002013-01-22T20:32:31.433-05:00Someone once defined "ad hominem" in the...Someone once defined "ad hominem" in these threads with an example: it would be ad hominem, they explained, if they were to call me an idiot.<br /><br />That was rather an example apophasis.<br /><br />An ad hominem comment is directed at a person's character rather than the merits of their argument. <br /><br />While the potential for changing the subject by undermining someone's reputation encompasses a lot more than apophasis and epithets, the thing readers should be on the alert for (especially from politicians) is the substituting of any subject matter for another. <br /><br />Therein lies the real intellectual dishonesty, after which "ad hominem" insinuations often follow as the substitutes of choice.<br /><br />In its consequences, the abuse of reason can be a worse crime than the abuse of persons; in a politician it is akin to an abuse of power. <br /><br />So why doesn't reason deserve our solicitude too? <br />unheimlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00204285837938988668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723709701684173708.post-27065735270970313342013-01-21T21:06:26.593-05:002013-01-21T21:06:26.593-05:00I had to look up 'apophasis' to make sure ...I had to look up 'apophasis' to make sure I abide by the new Gossip's rules.<br />•"Apophasis, or denial, is a Figure by which an Orator pretends to conceal or omit what he really and in fact declares." Thomas Gibbons 1767<br />---------<br />or more simply put by<br />" politician San Fernando Red" <br />( portrayed by comedian Red Skelton)<br />•"I'm not going to throw mud at my opponent, because he's a fine man.<br />And his wife is a mighty fine woman.<br />Mighty fine.<br />What he sees in that dame <br />he's running around with . . .."<br /><br /> So I think I'm in the clear, as long as I don't swear. I name names and dates and thier derilection of duties, by Law ~straight up..<br /> <br />Prison Alleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10059050028975347899noreply@blogger.com