11-29-2010, 11:39 AM
Quote:No.
Yes - with the proviso I already put above, which is when the issue itself turns on the person's qualities.
The argument "X is wrong about Y because they are a Z" is fallacious. It might be a very helpful heuristic, but it's not logical.
Quote:The issue is not the legality of the war, it is the *opinion* of the legality of the war. And, in matters of opinion, the person is always a factor.
I'm not sure how that matters. Law is definitionally a matter of opinion. That's what lawyers give - opinions. If you reject them solely on an Ad Hominem basis, then I don't see on what basis we decide these matters at all.
-Jester