The death of the ad hominem
Zadie Smith:
…if you grew up online, the negative attributes of individual humans are immediately disqualifying. The very phrase ad hominem has been rendered obsolete, almost incomprehensible. An argument that is directed against a person, rather than the position they are maintaining? Online a person is the position they’re maintaining and vice versa. Opinions are identities and identifies are opinions. Unfollow!
“The Instrumentalist: On Tár,” in Dead and Alive: Essays, pp. 46f
