Fallacy · Changing the subject
Ad hominem
Also called: Attacking the person
Attacking the person making an argument instead of the argument itself.
What it is
An argument stands or falls on its reasons. Pointing at the speaker’s character, looks, politics or past does not touch those reasons, so it cannot show the conclusion is false. It only changes the subject to someone easier to dislike.
An example
“Why listen to Dana’s plan for the bus routes? She failed her driving test twice.” Dana’s plan might be good or bad, but her driving test says nothing about it.
How to spot it
The reply is about who said it, and you could swap in a different speaker without changing the argument at all.
How to answer it
“Even if that’s true about Dana, what’s wrong with the plan itself?”
When it is not a fallacy
A person’s record matters when we are relying on their word rather than their reasons, as with a witness’s honesty or an expert’s conflicts of interest. Then it is a fair question about trust, not a disproof.
Printable sheet of all fallacies
Cite or share this page
A plain reference you can paste into notes or an essay:
Quest2Reason. “Ad hominem.” https://quest2reason.com/learn/ideas/fallacies/ad-hominem. Accessed 13 November 2026.