Why do some people resort to ad hominem responses whenever they run out of intelligent answers to a question?

Answer 1

You said the magic words "running out of intelligent answers." The person is not debating, but arguing not about the subject of the debate with you and do not have the facts to make a point. It should be a debate and not an argument. If a person makes as statement and you have no answer for it then it's best to keep your mouth shut and find out about it (for your own knowledge) on your own time. People who do this are called "know-it-alls" and think they know every answer to every question and simply argue and it often goes way beyond the subject you were first talking about. Some people are good at resolving other people's personal problems, while others may be good at legal question, medical questions, science and so on. We all can't be good at everything. Thus, these "know-in-alls" would rather make a complete ass out of themselves then simply admit they don't have a reason to debate with you. Just don't bring up serious subjects and keep it light and airy. If the person is always argumentative then cease seeing them because they aren't worth the energy.

Going on the Defense

Some people cannot see the difference between the person and the person's opinion; some of these, perhaps, were belittled in their formative years because of their opinion. Whatever the reason, these people can get defensive when their opinions aren't met with immediate agreement. As a result they can degrade into ad hominem arguments, because that's how they know to deal with disagreements.

On the other hand, others will start out confrontational and intimidating, which can result in defensive ad hominemstyles of retaliation.

ANSWER

For some, brainwashing can be exhibed when they don't actually know the basis of what they're saying; they have just been told it and told to believe it. When they get to the point that they realise their reasoning is not good enough for you, they go into a 'meltdown'.

Answer

Rule of thumb, when you don't have anything to say sit and listen because you might learn something! Unintelligent people open their mouths and always put their foot in it. It's OK to admit one doesn't know something on a certain subject and should be open to learning more about it.

Answer

It is quite simply the need to be accepted. When someone doesn't know how to accept themselves, they also do not know how to accept others and their differences. We are all unique. As we look at our own uniqueness and appreciate it we can see the uniqueness of others.