Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023
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And do you know what ad hominem means? That comment was directly related to a prediction about the likely project budget, and in any case, refers to the institution commissioning the project, not my opponent in an argument. An “ad hominem attack” is impossible in the context.
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In the context, the University was making it's "argument" with it's choice of architecture, and was being criticized for that choice by alleging that the University was mediocre instead of directly criticizing the architectural "argument".
I understand what the direct, very literal interpretation of "ad hominem" means, linguistically, and how it's ordinarily used in discussions of debate or logic, but I really don't think it takes a wild-eyed madman to infer an extension of meaning to a situation where an institution is being personified and maligned rather that directly criticizing their argument.
But for future reference, I'll try to remember that you have a very traditionalist, inflexible manner of reasoning.