I don’t care if he has a PhD from Harvard! He’s a Mormon for heaven’s sake! How can anyone with such extremist views be considered credible?

Fallacy Type:

Why it is this fallacy type:

Resource that describes this fallacy type:

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http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/fallacies.html

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The fallacy in this statement is known as ad hominem. Ad hominem is a Latin term meaning "against the man." It occurs when someone attacks the character, personal traits, or beliefs of a person instead of addressing the argument they are making. In this case, the person's credibility is being questioned solely based on their religious affiliation, which is a clear example of ad hominem.

The reason why this statement is considered ad hominem is because it distracts from the actual argument being made by focusing on irrelevant personal traits or beliefs. It assumes that someone's religious beliefs automatically make them an extremist and therefore not credible, without any evidence or logical reasoning.

If you want to further understand ad hominem fallacy, you can refer to various resources such as logic textbooks or online articles on logical fallacies. These resources explain different types of fallacies, provide examples, and offer strategies for avoiding them in arguments. A well-known book on logical fallacies is "The Art of Reasoning" by David Kelley, which covers a wide range of fallacies, including ad hominem.