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June 16, 2006
Just Don't Confuse a Bronx Cheer for An Argument
If I didn't know better, I'd think Jim West says things just to cause controversy. Today he writes in support of "ad hominem" expressions as a virtue. He extols its value as a sign of moral courage.
Hence, the greatest theologians of the Church have not been mousy, whiny, snivelling, cowardly and uncommitted. Rather, they have been forthright, straightforward, and at times, unpleasant in their speech. Because the matter at hand, for them, really mattered.
Well, all that may or may not be true among the "greatest theologians" but it sure isn't the case among the greatest logicians. But Jim is careful, in extolling the virtues of ad hominem expressions not the say "ad hominem argument," because, an ad hominem argument is no kind of an argument at all.
If I say that I disagree with Jim's interpretation of some text simply because he is a Christian, I am using an ad hominem argument and am not engaging in the debate in a rational way unless, and this is an important "unless," I can demonstrate that Jim's interpretations are consistently colored by the fact that he is a Christian. Then I can use such a claim in combination with other evidence to refute or ignore his interpretation. If I call someone a liar and use that unsupported claim to dismiss his or her position then I am engaging in an ad hominem argument. But if that person has a consistent pattern of lying then using that fact is not an ad hominem argument in evaluating the likelihood that what they say is true.
Let's look at one of Jim's examples, '"Stupid drunkards and liars' -- Luther of his opponents at Worms." Depending on the point Luther is making, it is possible that this is not ad hominem at all. But I suspect that the word "stupid" might be a little hard to read in any benign way. So my guess is that it is ad hominem but I'm not so sure it is part of an argument. Rather I think it serves the same function as "boo" in response to a bad performance. It means no more than "I truly don't like those guys at Worms and think they are very, very wrong." But that need not be a little thing. It's just that one should not confuse it with an argument. And its not clear that Jim is so confused.
Sometimes name calling is a useful rhetorical device, particularly when one is preaching to the choir. But sometimes it just makes your opponent angry. And if you believe that you cannot win them over with reason and evidence, then making them mad may be the next best thing. I am pretty sure that IĊĦbiertra of Mari who was said to have "human instincts, canine intelligence and an ape's features" didn't say to himself upon hearing those words, "My goodness, that is a very apt description of me. I had better redeem myself, starting by returning the city I just conquered to my new friends who, before I was called this, were my enemies."
If something really matters, you may want to state your case bluntly and perhaps, on occasion, offensively, but you sure better be able to make a coherent argument for it also. Otherwise, you are only a cheerleader for the home team. For me, real moral courage is the attempt at a coherent argument with the risk that you might be wrong.
Update:
Just as I finished this post and I started reading Ed Brayton on Dispatches from the Culture Wars. Ed is discussing an article in Christianity Today by Stephen Carter, a professor at the Yale Law School and a devout Christian. In the course of that discussion, Ed favorably quotes Professor Carter as follows,
Yet I must confess that, although I am pleased to balance the record, defending the ACLU is not my primary purpose here. I am more concerned about a habit of mind that seems to be growing among my fellow Christians, both political liberals and conservatives. That is, we seem to mimic the secular world's conflation of disagreement with wickedness, as if not sharing my worldview places my critic outside the realm of rational discourse.
Somehow, this seemed relevant to me.
Posted by Duane Smith at June 16, 2006 8:30 PM | Read more on Religion |
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