{"id":4566,"date":"2021-10-15T15:21:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T13:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/?p=4566"},"modified":"2025-08-07T13:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T11:01:10","slug":"ad-arguments-ad-ignorantiam-e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/ad-arguments-ad-ignorantiam-e\/","title":{"rendered":"Ad \u2014 Arguments (Ad Ignorantiam\u2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"

AD \u2013 arguments
\ne. g.<\/span> \u201cAd hominem arg.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some argument schemes are designated by Latin labels, see a<\/em>\/ab<\/em>\u00a0\u2014; ad<\/em>\u00a0\u2014; ex<\/em>\u00a0\u2014<\/a>. This entry lists the labels using the Latin preposition ad<\/em>. In Classical Latin, the preposition ad<\/em> is used with the accusative case and introduces a goal complement. The phrase \u201cargument ad hominem<\/em>\u201d\u00a0reads \u201cargument addressing the person\u201d.
\nAccording to Hamblin, the oldest agument scheme in this grouping is ad hominem <\/em>argument which appears in the Latin translations of Aristotle. This naming method was popularized by Locke ([1690]) and by Bentham ([1824]). Most of these terms seem to be creations of the nineteenth or twentieth century (Hamblin 1970, p. 41; pp. 161-162).<\/p>\n

1. A list of \u201cad<\/em> + N\u201d arguments<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Latin name of the Argument<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

\u2022\u00a0Meaning of the Latin word(s)Latin
\n\u2022\u00a0<\/strong>(<\/strong>When necessary a word-for-word translation)<\/strong>\u2022\u00a0(English equivalent(s))
\n\u2022\u00a0Reference to the corresponding entry\/ies<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
(reductio) ad absurdum
\n<\/em>(also: ab absurdo<\/em>)<\/td>\n		Lat. absurdus<\/em>, \u201cfalse, unpleasant, absurd\u201d\u202f \u2014 reduction to the absurd \u2014 S. Absurd<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad amicitiam <\/em><\/td>\nLat. amicitia<\/em>, \u201cfriendship<\/em>\u201d \u2014 appeal to friendship \u2014 S. Emotion<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad antiquitatem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. antiquitas<\/em>, \u201cantiquity, tradition\u201d \u2014 appeal to antiquity, to tradition \u2014 S. Authority<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad auditorem
\n<\/em>(pl. ad auditores<\/em>)<\/td>\n		Lat. auditor<\/em>, \u201chearer, audience\u201d \u2014 S. Beliefs of the audience<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad baculum<\/em><\/td>\nLat. baculus<\/em>, \u201cstick\u201d \u2014 S. Threat and promises<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad captandum vulgus<\/em><\/td>\nLat. captare<\/em>, \u201ctry to seize \u2026 by insinuation, by guile\u201d; vulgus<\/em> \u201ccrowd, ordinary people\u201d\u202f\u2014\u00a0playing to the gallery\u2009; playing to the crowd \u2014
\nS. Rhetorical argumentation<\/a>;<\/span> Emotion<\/a>; Ad populum<\/em><\/a>; Laughter and Seriousness<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad consequentiam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. consequentia<\/em>, \u201cfollowing, consequence\u201d \u2014 S. Consequence<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad crumenam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. crumena<\/em>, \u201cpurse\u201d \u2014 argument to the purse
\n\u2014 S. Emotion<\/a>; Punishments and Rewards<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0(reductio) ad falsu<\/em>m<\/em><\/td>\nLat. falsum<\/em>, \u201cfalse\u201d\u202f \u2014\u00a0reduction to a falsehood \u2014 S. Absurd<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad fidem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. fides<\/em>, \u201cfaith\u201d\u202f\u2014\u00a0S. Faith<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad fulmen<\/em><\/td>\nLat. fulmen<\/em>, \u201cthunderbolt\u201d\u202f\u2014 argument from thunderbolt \u2014 S. Threat \u2014 Promises<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad hominem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. homo<\/em>, \u201cman, human being\u201d \u2014 S. Ad hominem<\/em><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad ignorantiam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. ignorantia<\/em>, \u201cignorance\u201d\u202f\u2014\u00a0S. Ignorance<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad imaginationem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. imaginatio<\/em>, \u201cpicture, vision\u201d \u2014 appeal to imagination \u2014 S. Subjectivity\u2009<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
(reductio)
\nad impossibile<\/em><\/td>\n		Lat. impossibile<\/em> \u201cimpossible\u201d \u2014 reduction to the impossible \u2014 S. Absurd<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
(deducendo, reductio) ad incommodum<\/em><\/td>\nLat. incommodum<\/em> \u201cunfortunate, disadvantageous\u201d\u00a0\u2014 reduction to the uncomfortable<\/em> \u2014 S. Ad incommodum<\/a>; <\/em>Absurd<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad invidiam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. invidia<\/em>, \u201chate, envy\u201d\u202f\u2014\u00a0appeal to envy<\/em> \u2014 S. Emotion<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad iudicium<\/em><\/td>\nLat. iudicium<\/em>, \u201csentence, judgment, opinion\u201d\u202f\u2014\u00a0arg. appealing to the judgment<\/em>\u2009;\u202f<\/em>to common sense\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 <\/em>S. Matter<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad lapidem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. lapis<\/em>, \u201cstone; (symbol of stupidity, insensibility)\u201d \u2014\u00a0\u202farg. by dismissal \u2014
\n<\/strong>S. Dismissal <\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad Lazarum<\/em><\/td>\nLat. Lazarus,<\/em> character of the Bible, paragon of the destitute \u2014 arg.<\/em> ad Lazarum \u2014 S. Rich and Poor<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad litteram<\/em><\/td>\nLat. littera<\/em>, \u201cletter\u201d \u2014 S. Strict Meaning<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad ludicrum<\/em><\/td>\nLat. ludicrum<\/em>, \u201cpublic game (theater, circus\u2026)\u201d \u2014\u00a0appeal to the gallery \u2014
\nS. Emotion<\/a>; Orator; Ad populum<\/em><\/a>; Laughter and Seriousness<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad metum<\/em><\/td>\nLat. metus<\/em>, \u201cfear, apprehension\u201d \u2014 appeal to fear \u2014S. <\/strong>Threat \u2014 Promises<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad misericordiam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. misericordia<\/em>, \u201ccompassion, pity\u201d\u202f\u2014 appeal to pity \u2014 S. Emotion<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad modum<\/em><\/td>\nLat. modus<\/em> \u201cmeasure, just measure, moderation\u201d\u202f\u2014\u00a0arg. of gradualism
\n\u2014 S. Proportion<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad naturam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. natura<\/em>, \u201cnature\u201d \u2014\u00a0appeal to nature\u2009; naturalistic fallacy
\n\u2014\u00a0S. Weight of circumstances<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad nauseam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. nausea<\/em>, \u201cnausea, seasickness\u201d \u2014\u00a0proof by assertion \u2014\u00a0S. Repetition<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad novitatem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. novitas<\/em>, \u201cnovelty, innovation; unexpected thing\u201d \u2014 appeal to novelty \u2014
\nS. Progress<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad numerum <\/em><\/td>\nLat. numerus<\/em>, \u201cnumber, great number\u201d \u2014 arg. from number \u2014 S. Authority<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad odium<\/em><\/td>\nLat. odium<\/em>, \u201chate\u201d \u2014 appeal to hatred, to spite \u2014 S. Emotion<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad orationem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. oratio<\/em>, \u201clanguage, comments, speech, discourse\u201d \u2014\u202f S.\u00a0Matter<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad passionem
\n<\/em>(pl. ad passiones<\/em>)<\/td>\n		Lat. passio<\/em>, \u201cpassivity; passion, emotion\u201d\u202f; appeal to passion, to emotion<\/em>
\n\u2014 S. Pathos\u2009; Emotion<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad personam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. persona<\/em>, \u201cmask; role; person\u201d \u2014\u00a0abusive ad hominem<\/em>
\n\u2014 S. Personal Attack<\/a>; Ad hominem<\/em><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad populum<\/em><\/td>\nLat. populus<\/em> \u201cpeople\u201d\u202f\u2014 appeal to people, arg. from popularity
\n\u2014 S. Ad populum<\/em><\/a>\u2009<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad quietem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. quies<\/em> \u201crest; political neutrality; calm; peace\u201d, tranquility\u201d \u2014\u202f appeal for calm, conservatism, <\/em>S. Calm<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad rem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. res<\/em>, \u201cthing, being, reality\u2009; judicial matter, issue\u201d\u202f \u2014\u00a0arg. addressed to the thing, to the point, dealing with the matter at hand<\/em> \u2014 S. Matter<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad reverentiam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. reverentia<\/em>, \u201crespectful fear; deference\u201d \u2014 S. Respect<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad ridiculum <\/em><\/td>\nLat. ridiculus<\/em>, \u201cfunny; ridicule\u201d \u2014 appeal to ridicule, appeal to mockery \u2014
\nS. Absurd<\/a>; Laughter and seriousness<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad socordiam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. socordia<\/em>, \u201cstupidity; indolence\u201d \u2014 appeal to weak-mindedness \u2014 S. Subjectivity\u2009<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad superbiam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. superbia<\/em>, \u201cpride\u201d \u2014 appeal to pride<\/em>; arg. of popular corruption<\/em> \u2014
\nS. Emotion<\/a>;\u00a0Ad populum<\/em><\/a>\u2009<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad superstitionem<\/em><\/td>\nLat. superstitio<\/em>, \u201csuperstition\u201d\u2014 S. Subjectivity\u2009<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad temperantiam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. temperantia<\/em>, \u201cmoderation, restraint\u201d \u2014\u00a0S. Proportion<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad verecundiam<\/em><\/td>\nLat. verecundia<\/em>, \u201crespect, modesty, discretion\u2009; fear of shame\u201d \u2014 arg. from modesty<\/em>\u2009<\/em>; arg. from authority<\/em> \u2014<\/strong>S. Subjectivity\u2009<\/a>; Modesty<\/a>; Authority<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ad vertiginem <\/em><\/td>\nLat. vertigo<\/em>, \u201crotation, dizziness\u201d\u202f\u2014 <\/strong>S. Vertigo<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

2. Characteristics of the \u201cad <\/em>+ N\u201d family<\/span><\/h2>\n

2.1\u00a0A productive pattern<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are many more \u201cad<\/em> +N\u201d arguments than there are \u201ca \/ ab <\/em>+ N\u201d arguments. Only the \u201cad<\/em> +N\u201d construction is still productive; the pattern is popular and mocked (ad bananum<\/em> argument).<\/p>\n

2.2\u00a0Origin of the labels<\/span><\/h2>\n

Some of these names were defined and used by Locke and Bentham, S. Collections 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Locke has defined the arguments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ad hominem
\n<\/em>ad ignorantiam<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/td>\n		ad judicium
\n<\/em>ad verecundiam <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Bentham defined the following arguments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ad amicitiam
\nad ignorantiam
\nad imaginationem
\nad invidiam<\/em><\/td>\n		ad judicium
\nad metum
\n<\/em>ad odium
\nad quietem<\/em><\/td>\n		ad socordiam
\n<\/em>ad superbiam
\nad superstitionem
\nad verecundiam<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

2.3\u00a0Semantic subsets of \u201cad<\/em> + N\u201d arguments<\/span><\/h2>\n

These arguments refer to very different strategies. Nonetheless, some groupings can be proposed according to their semantic content.<\/p>\n

(i) Arguments related to affects and emotions, <\/strong><\/span>often via positive incentives (rewards) or negative conssequences (threats):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ad amicitiam
\n<\/em>ad captandum vulgus
\n<\/em>ad invidiam
\nad ludicrum
\nad metum <\/em>(ad carcerem,
\nad baculum, ad fulmen, ad crumenam<\/em>)<\/em><\/td>\n		ad misericordiam
\nad novitatem
\nad numerum
\n<\/em>ad passionem
\n<\/em>ad odium
\n<\/em>ad quietem<\/em><\/td>\n		ad personam
\n<\/em>ad populum
\nad superbiam
\n<\/em>ad verecundiam<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

(ii) Arguments involving a subjective system of beliefs<\/strong><\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ad consequentiam
\nad fidem
\nad hominem<\/em><\/td>\n		ad ignorantiam
\nad imaginationem
\nad incommodum<\/em><\/td>\n		ad socordiam
\nad superstitionem
\n<\/em>ad vertiginem<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Categories (i) and (ii) list arguments that are often considered as misleading, because they express the speaker’s subjectivity<\/a>. In other words, they are related to the ethotic and pathemic components.<\/p>\n

(iii) Arguments <\/strong>dealing with the substance of the issue <\/strong><\/span>(contrasting with the subjective series (i) and (ii))
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
ad iudicium <\/em><\/td>\nad rem<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n

\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AD \u2013 arguments e. g. \u201cAd hominem arg.\u201d   Some argument schemes are designated by Latin labels, see a\/ab\u00a0\u2014; ad\u00a0\u2014; ex\u00a0\u2014. This entry lists the labels using the Latin preposition ad. In Classical Latin, the preposition ad is used with the accusative case and introduces a goal complement. The phrase \u201cargument ad hominem\u201d\u00a0reads \u201cargument addressing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4566"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14656,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions\/14656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}