[CobaltBlue]

I am way, way too busy/lazy to drag out Aristotle, but will remind you that he said (in his Rhetoric) that the reason people use fallacious arguments is because they work.

Human beings are persuaded both by reason and emotion. We instinctively reject arguments from people we dislike or distrust. Thus, the argumentum ad hominem works on that level.

[LogicWings]

Human beings are persuaded both by reason and emotion.

Yes, and people persuaded by emotion rather than reason are often led astray. Making decisions based upon emotion is the problem. It was to cut through such - "the counterfeit of argument" that was the purpose of Aristotle's work.

Knowing an argument is fallacious is grounds for rejection.