CITB01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Pathos, Inductive Reasoning, Deductive Reasoning
A General Summary of Aristotle's
Appeals . . .
The goal of argumentative writing is
to persuade your audience that your
ideas are valid, or more valid than
someone else's. The Greek
philosopher Aristotle divided the
means of persuasion, appeals, into
three categories--Ethos, Pathos,
Logos.
Ethos (Credibility), or ethical
appeal, means convincing by the
character of the author. We tend to
believe people whom we respect. One
of the central problems of
argumentation is to project an
impression to the reader that you are
someone worth listening to, in other
words making yourself as author into
an authority on the subject of the
paper, as well as someone who is
likable and worthy of respect.
Pathos (Emotional) means
persuading by appealing to the
reader's emotions. We can look at
texts ranging from classic essays to
contemporary advertisements to see
how pathos, emotional appeals, are
used to persuade. Language choice
affects the audience's emotional
response, and emotional appeal can
effectively be used to enhance an
argument.
Logos (Logical) means persuading by
the use of reasoning. This will be the
most important technique we will
study, and Aristotle's favorite. We'll
look at deductive and inductive
reasoning, and discuss what makes an
effective, persuasive reason to back up
your claims. Giving reasons is the
heart of argumentation, and cannot be
emphasized enough. We'll study the
types of support you can use to
substantiate your thesis, and look at
some of the common logical fallacies,
in order to avoid them in your writing.
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.
Logos (Greek for 'word') refers to the
internal consistency of the message--
the clarity of the claim, the logic of its
reasons, and the effectiveness of its
supporting evidence. The impact of
logos on an audience is sometimes
called the argument's logical appeal.
Ethos (Greek for 'character') refers to
the trustworthiness or credibility of
the writer or speaker. Ethos is often
conveyed through tone and style of
the message and through the way the
writer or speaker refers to differing
views. It can also be affected by the
writer's reputation as it exists
independently from the message--his
or her expertise in the field, his or her
previous record or integrity, and so
forth. The impact of ethos is often
called the argument's 'ethical appeal'
or the 'appeal from credibility.'
[P]athos (Greek for 'suffering' or
'experience') is often associated with
emotional appeal. But a better
equivalent might be 'appeal to the
audience's sympathies and
imagination.' An appeal to pathos
causes an audience not just to respond
emotionally but to identify with the
writer's point of view--to feel what the
writer feels. In this sense, pathos
evokes a meaning implicit in the verb
'to suffer'--to feel pain imaginatively....
Perhaps the most common way of
conveying a pathetic appeal is through
narrative or story, which can turn the
abstractions of logic into something
palpable and present. The values,
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beliefs, and understandings of the
writer are implicit in the story and
conveyed imaginatively to the reader.
Pathos thus refers to both the
emotional and the imaginative impact
of the message on an audience, the
power with which the writer's
message moves the audience to
decision or action.
[The above text drawn verbatim from
Ramage, John D. and John C. Bean.
Writing Arguments. 4th Edition.
Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon,
1998, 81-82.]
http://www.u.arizona.edu/ic/polis/c
ourses021/ENGL_102-
78/EthosPathosLogos
Or The Shorthand Version:
Ethos: the source's credibility, the
speaker's/author's authority
Logos: the logic used to support a
claim (induction and deduction); can
also be the facts and statistics used to
help support the argument.
Pathos: the emotional or motivational
appeals; vivid language, emotional
language and numerous sensory
details.
The Art of Rhetoric: Learning How
to Use the Three Main Rhetorical
Styles
Rhetoric (n) - the art of speaking or
writing effectively (Webster's
Definition).
According to Aristotle, rhetoric is "the
ability, in each particular case, to see
the available means of persuasion." He
described three main forms of
rhetoric: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.
In order to be a more effective writer,
you must understand these three
terms. This site will help you
understand their meanings and it will
also show you how to make your
writing more persuasive.
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/webclas
s/web/project1/group4/index.html
It also has some fantastic example
web sites that use ethos, logos, and
pathos. My ACME and Coyote fans will
love these examples.
The following essay "The Appeals:
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos" was written
by Professor Jeanne Fahnestock of the
University of Maryland, College Park,
and is a very insightful explanation of
the three appeals. I highly
recommend reading it at the following
web site . . .
http://otal.umd.edu/~mikej/supplem
ents/ethoslogospathos.html
According to Aristotle, our perception
of a speaker or writer's character
influences how believable or
convincing we find what that person
has to say. This projected character is
called the speaker or writer's ethos.
We are naturally more likely to be
persuaded by a person who, we think,
has personal warmth, consideration of
others, a good mind and solid learning.
Often we know something of the
character of speakers and writers
ahead of time. They come with a
reputation or extrinsic ethos. People
whose education, experience, and
previous performances qualify them
to speak on a certain issue earn the
special extrinsic ethos of the authority.
But whether or not we know anything
about the speaker or writer ahead of
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Document Summary
The goal of argumentative writing is to persuade your audience that your ideas are valid, or more valid than someone else"s. The greek philosopher aristotle divided the means of persuasion, appeals, into three categories--ethos, pathos, Ethos (credibility), or ethical appeal, means convincing by the character of the author. We tend to believe people whom we respect. Pathos (emotional) means persuading by appealing to the reader"s emotions. We can look at texts ranging from classic essays to contemporary advertisements to see how pathos, emotional appeals, are used to persuade. Language choice affects the audience"s emotional response, and emotional appeal can effectively be used to enhance an argument. Logos (logical) means persuading by the use of reasoning. This will be the most important technique we will study, and aristotle"s favorite. We"ll look at deductive and inductive reasoning, and discuss what makes an effective, persuasive reason to back up your claims. Giving reasons is the heart of argumentation, and cannot be emphasized enough.
