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Mormonism and apologetics/"ad hominem"/Case study/Attempt to discredit Brian Hales as a scholar
Jeremy Runnells attempts to discredit Brian Hales as a scholar
Hales is not a scholar. He's an anesthesiologist who hired Don Bradley to do his research for him. He then wrote 3 books using his employee's homework. Author? Sure. Apologist? Yes. Amateur? Yes. Scholar? No. He's an apologist disguising himself as a scholar. The real scholars in the field of polygamy have issues with many of Hales' conclusions and interpretations. Anyone with big bucks and writing skills can do what Brian did. All you have to do is hire guys like Don Bradley to do all the work for you and then you throw the stuff in a nice hardcover book with your name on it.
—Jeremy Runnells, author of the "Letter to a CES Director", posted on "Who's the Real Amateur?," Ploni Almoni: Mr. So-and-So's Mormon Blog (16 July 2014) off-site
—Jeremy Runnells, author of the "Letter to a CES Director", posted on "Who's the Real Amateur?," Ploni Almoni: Mr. So-and-So's Mormon Blog (16 July 2014) off-site
Detailed Analysis
The critic says, "Hales is not a scholar. He's an anesthesiologist who hired Don Bradley to do his research for him."
Brian Hales has published numerous works on the subject of Joseph Smith's polygamy. His three-volume work, Joseph Smith's Polygamy, contains every known primary source related to Joseph Smith's practice of plural marriage.
According to Merriam-Webster, "ad hominem" is "marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made." Note how the critic, who has not read, cited or engaged Hales' work in any way whatsoever, attempts to dismiss him as a scholar because he works as an anesthesiologist. What the critic is claiming is that one cannot be a scholar and an anesthesiologist, and that being an anesthesiologist somehow disqualifies one from performing scholarly endeavours.
The critic also states that Hales didn't even do the work himself. Again, this is an attack on his character which has absolutely nothing to do with Hales' research.
The critic says, "He then wrote 3 books using his employee's homework."
All scholars employ research assistants to do the work of looking up primary sources. This is standard operating procedure for any scholar. The critic re-frames this common practice as the employer taking the work of someone else as their own. Hales' research assistant at the time, Don Bradley, is a competent and capable historian in his own right. Every historian spends time as a research assistant at some point in their early career.
The critic says, "Author? Sure. Apologist? Yes. Amateur? Yes. Scholar? No. He's an apologist disguising himself as a scholar."
The critic says, "The real scholars in the field of polygamy have issues with many of Hales' conclusions and interpretations."
The critic says, "Anyone with big bucks and writing skills can do what Brian did. All you have to do is hire guys like Don Bradley to do all the work for you and then you throw the stuff in a nice hardcover book with your name on it."
Notes