Rotelle: You are too old to address effectively the difficult issues facing the country, such as nuclear power, pove...
tomgbeanDecember 20, 2019
E
Sim implies that Rotelle is too young and inexperience to address the issues facing society. Does that not count as a direct response to Rotelle's argument? Also, is Rotelle not also making an odhominem argument?
Replies
Create a free account to read and
take part in forum discussions.
The claim Rotelle makes is that Sims is too old to be effective. Sims does not defend or even mention his own age specifically in this response, thereby failing to directly respond to Rotelle's specific claim.
Moreover, as you noted, Sims "IMPLIES" that Rotelle is too young. This implication, as opposed to an explicit statement, is also part of what makes Sims's response indirect rather than direct. Sims does not say, "you are too young and experienced to address effectively the issues facing our country," but instead says, "I will not comment on your youth and inexperience." This difference is important.
An ad hominem argument occurs when a response focuses on the person who made the claim rather than the content of the claim that the person made. This case is slightly different, as the content of the claim made is about the person.
Does that make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions.
TrishCZAugust 7, 2020
I wonder how many people are old enough to catch the allusion to the Reagan campaign? LOL
