---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I shall not make an argument ad hominem…"
description: "\"I shall not make an argument ad hominem. My argument is ad bullshitem.\" — Richard Dawkins"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/richard-dawkins-115_ads_i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem_2428841.jpg"
---

#  I shall not make an argument ad hominem. My argument is ad…

![“I shall not make an argument ad hominem. My argument is ad bullshitem.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/richard-dawkins-115_ads_i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem_2428841.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/richard-dawkins-115_ads_i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem_2428841.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/richard-dawkins-115_ads_i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem_2428841.jpg)

> “I shall not make an argument ad hominem. My argument is ad bullshitem.”

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He dismisses personal attacks, preferring to expose nonsense directly.

**In simple terms:** Avoid personal attacks; expose nonsense.

Key Takeaway

Focus on ideas, not people.

Themes

logic debate integrity

Mood

analytical serious

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- academic discussions
- online forums
- political debates
- media commentary

Key Concepts

critical thinking rhetoric argumentation

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you critique ideas without alienating people?
- When is a strong counterargument necessary?

A Different Perspective

May be seen as dismissive of emotional nuance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/)

## Related quotes

> [We all resort to the ad hominem from time to time: in human affairs, it is difficult to avoid it, and probably not desirable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/we-all-resort-to-the-ad-hominem-from-time-to-time-in-human-affairs-it/)

[Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/)

> [I don't make a Bible argument in the ad, nor have I made a bible argument in the public space. My argument is simple,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/i-don-t-make-a-bible-argument-in-the-ad-nor-have-i-made-a-bible/)

[Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/)

> [Topical-sketch writing were incredibly rational and well reasoned: don't do a joke if the subject doesn't deserve it. An ad hominem attack on someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schur/topical-sketch-writing-were-incredibly-rational-and-well-reasoned-don/)

[Michael Schur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schur/)

> [Political correctness will die as it lived - kicking and screaming ad hominem abuse as a substitute for arguments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mcelroy/political-correctness-will-die-as-it-lived-kicking-and-screaming-ad/)

[Wendy McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mcelroy/)

> [If you're trying to get something done, there will always be people who don't want to see you get something done, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rice/if-you-re-trying-to-get-something-done-there-will-always-be-people/)

[Susan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rice/)

> [I'm a big believer in you make your argument to everybody, and you do it in a way that is real and very candid.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kander/i-m-a-big-believer-in-you-make-your-argument-to-everybody-and-you-do/)

[Jason Kander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kander/)

> [I wrote my own first book about the defense of television as an art form in 1992. It was harder to make the argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bianculli/i-wrote-my-own-first-book-about-the-defense-of-television-as-an-art/)

[David Bianculli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bianculli/)

> [“Some people like to argue about God.” “Not necessary,” he said. “I have good idea, for if you meet some person from different religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/some-people-like-to-argue-about-god-not-necessary-he-said-i-have-good/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“you, yourself are the only one you answer to, so you better make the argument a good one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-lee/you-yourself-are-the-only-one-you-answer-to-so-you-better-make-the/)

Tracy Lee

> [“Swearing doesn’t make your argument valid; it just tells the other person you have lost your class and control.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/swearing-doesn-t-make-your-argument-valid-it-just-tells-the-other/)

[Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/)

> [Remember, it takes two to make an argument. The one who is wrong is the one who will be doing most of the talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/remember-it-takes-two-to-make-an-argument-the-one-who-is-wrong-is-the/)

[Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/)

> [“I’d like to make the argument that The Cars were the first garage band.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-d-like-to-make-the-argument-that-the-cars-were-the-first-garage-band/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [I have good idea, for if you meet some person from different religion and he want to make argument about God. My idea is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-have-good-idea-for-if-you-meet-some-person-from-different-religion/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [Above all, spend time in places where people disagree with you. Reach out. Show up and make your argument. People will appreciate it, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bullock/above-all-spend-time-in-places-where-people-disagree-with-you-reach/)

[Steve Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bullock/)

> [As a child, I heard in my home doctors and ambulance men say, 'Mrs. Stewart, you must've done something to provoke him.' 'Mrs. Stewart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stewart/as-a-child-i-heard-in-my-home-doctors-and-ambulance-men-say-mrs/)

[Patrick Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stewart/)

## More by Richard Dawkins

> [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

[Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

## More Ads quotes

> [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Metallica's the only band i've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-s-the-only-band-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m-not-sure-that-when-it/)

[Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/)

> [As a Fundamentalist I had discovered while I was in college that it is possible to dismiss the entire Church as having gone off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-howard-3rd-duke-of-norfolk/as-a-fundamentalist-i-had-discovered-while-i-was-in-college-that-it/)

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk

> [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/)

[Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/)

> [One performer whose band played my music better than I could myself was Art Farmer. He recorded 'Sing Me Softly of the Blues' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music-better-than-i-could-myself/)

[Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/)

> [What every human being should do is eat a vegetarian diet based on whole foods. Period. That's it. Animal protein is bad for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/what-every-human-being-should-do-is-eat-a-vegetarian-diet-based-on/)

[Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/)

> [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/)

[Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/)

> [Donald Trump threatened to file a defamation suit against me for running a TV ad that consisted only entirely of his own words on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/donald-trump-threatened-to-file-a-defamation-suit-against-me-for/)

[Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/)

> [There is nothing personal about a personal ad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/there-is-nothing-personal-about-a-personal-ad/)

[Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/)

> [Google has - at least at this point - maintained the line where it keeps organic results separate from the advertisements. But over time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/google-has-at-least-at-this-point-maintained-the-line-where-it-keeps/)

[Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/)

> [I am terrible at memorizing things. Hence, ad-libbing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-weatherly/i-am-terrible-at-memorizing-things-hence-ad-libbing/)

[Michael Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-weatherly/)

> [In a recent attack ad, the NRA claims that President Obama cares about his own children more than he cares about other children. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/in-a-recent-attack-ad-the-nra-claims-that-president-obama-cares-about/)

[Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/)

> [Nothing's going to keep me from making music. If I were in the want-ads in the back of the paper or playing to six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/nothing-s-going-to-keep-me-from-making-music-if-i-were-in-the-want/)

[Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/)

> [For me, being on set is no different than being at a dinner table or riding the subway next to someone; inevitably their life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-mahoney/for-me-being-on-set-is-no-different-than-being-at-a-dinner-table-or/)

[Victoria Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-mahoney/)

> [We assumed the customers were smart and that they'll buy what they like, not what the ads tell them to buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-rosso/we-assumed-the-customers-were-smart-and-that-they-ll-buy-what-they/)

[Renzo Rosso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-rosso/)

Browse all 856 Ads quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I shall not make an argument ad hominem. My argument is ad bullshitem.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Richard Dawkins"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem-my-argument-is-ad-bullshitem/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ads"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem-my-argument-is-ad-bullshitem/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/richard-dawkins-115_ads_i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem_2428841.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/richard-dawkins-115_ads_i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem_2428841.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d4/richard-dawkins-115_ads_i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem_2428841.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I shall not make an argument ad hominem. My argument is ad bullshitem.” — Richard Dawkins",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Richard Dawkins",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I shall not make an argument...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem-my-argument-is-ad-bullshitem/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-shall-not-make-an-argument-ad-hominem-my-argument-is-ad-bullshitem/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
