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What is the opposite of ad hominem. I mean when something is given more credence than it deserves because of who's saying it. "Appeal to authority" comes to mind but is not exactly what I am looking for.

Edit: Appeal to authority is not what I am looking for because the person making the statement is not the "authority" on the subject, for example Einstein making a statement about optimal seating arrangement in his office.

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4 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

In business-speak one often hears that a message benefits from a "Halo-Effect" because the messenger has a good reputation for one reason or another.

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Exactly what I was looking for . Thanks. – Surya Feb 10 '12 at 20:49
up vote 10 down vote

Appeal to False Authority (or argumentum ad verecundiam) is a logical fallacy that means more or less exactly what you said: "something is given more credence than it deserves because of who's saying it." But then the real opposite of any logical fallacy would really be a correct argument, so in that sense @Vladtn is right.

Also, ad hominem does have another form, where an attempt is made to reinforce an opinion based on the positive image of the person who shares it. Practically all celebrity endorsements in advertising use this fallacy. When you see Einstein brushing his teeth with Crelm toothpaste, you want to buy Crelm, right?

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3  
Jinx. You owe me a coke. – MετάEd Jan 30 '12 at 18:28
1  
Wow...you are scary smart, you know that? – JeffSahol Jan 30 '12 at 18:36
I know, right? – MετάEd Jan 30 '12 at 18:40
up vote 7 down vote

ad rem would be the opposite of ad hominem, as what is pertinent, to the point, regarding the topic of discussion rather than to the interlocutor.

Edit: if your question is about unjustified (celebrity) testimonial, I don't believe there is a simple expression for that (although there should be!), but to describe your example and if you don't mind leaning a bit on the formal side you could maybe go for non-authoritative endorsement. Other ideas?

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@JeffSahol (cannot comment on your post) The question was a bit confusing, thanks for the link. Ad rem and ad hominem concerns the technique of argumentation as oriented towards the interlocutor. Philosophical argument should always be ad rem, while appeal to the feeling of the interlocutor, or criticising him/her, is ad hominem. I suppose false authority would qualify as ad hominem if the authority was someone dear to the interlocutor, e.g. 'even your mother thinks that...' – Vladtn Jan 30 '12 at 18:31
Thanks. See my edit to the question. – Surya Jan 30 '12 at 18:47
Are you looking for a word for a valid argument, or a fallacy? – JeffSahol Jan 30 '12 at 18:55
@JeffSahol Fallacy. – Surya Jan 30 '12 at 19:37
@Surya then it sounds like False Authority is the one you are looking for. Appeal to someone outside their area of expertise. – JeffSahol Jan 30 '12 at 19:40
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up vote 4 down vote

The argumentum ad hominem fallacy refers to a rhetorical move which discredits an argument by characterizing the person making it.

By “opposite” you seem to mean a rhetorical move which gives an argument more credence than is deserved, also by characterizing the person making it. That is the fallacy of appeal to authority or argumentum ad verecundiam.

But if by “opposite” you were to mean a move which discredits an argument in a valid manner instead of a fallacious manner, Vladtn has your term: argument to the point or argumentum ad rem.

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