nduce doubt in the minds of the jury as to the trustworthiness' of people giving evidence. However, as Douglas Walton points out, there are times when is argument is relevant. For example, a presidential candidate is caught philandering while taking a strong stand on family values in his/hers presidential campaign. This seems be adequate reason to use the ad hominem argument against the presidential candidate. In this case it should be noted that it is relevant only in relation to family affairs, etc. Not in relation to foreign policy for example.
The fallacy of guilt by association is the attempt to reject a claim by attacking not the claim's proponent, but the company he or she keeps, or by questioning the reputations of those with whom he or she agrees. This is also known as poisoning the well, which suggests a fitting scenario:
Daisy Tinkerbelle Earthsaver advocates recycling all household goods.
Daisy Tinkerbell Earthsaver spends a lot of her time hanging around with hippies.
We should not recycle household goods.
The premises are irrelevant to the conclusion; even if Daisy has hippie friends who are alwa
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