Pro hominem

To argue pro hominem is to argue for the person presenting the argument rather than to argue in favor of the argument itself. It is the logical inverse of the ad hominem argument.

Example

An example of a pro hominem argument could be as such:

• Bob is an honest man, and Bob says this, so this must be true.

or the following, which might also be an ipse dixit:

• Mick is an expert on this, and about this he says that, so that must be true.

Practical usage

In formal logic, the pro hominem argument may be considered a logical fallacy, but in informal logic, it may be used given proper care and if carried out properly.

The core problem with the pro hominem is that it changes the focus of the topic at hand from the argument or discussion to the person presenting the argument. The link between the two is at best very weak and as such, not a good tactic to use except in showing off after the original author has already presented his case.

The pro hominem argument tactic is often used purposefully to confuse the topic at hand and to elicit an emotional appeal from an audience.

The appeal to authority argument tactic is a special case of the pro hominem argument where the truth of the argument is based on the person presenting it.