INTRODUCTION TO LOGOS, PATHOS, AND ETHOS GENERAL HISTORY Aristotle (384-322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher, one whose wisdom is still very relevant in the lives
of modern people. Other Greek philosophers whose influences also reach into the present include Plato, who
taught Aristotle, and Socrates, who was Plato’s teacher. All of these men were interested in a variety of
subjects. Aristotle in particular wrote on a great variety of topics ranging from political, scientific (physics,
biology, zoology), poetry and theatre, logic, and the elements of argument and persuasion, a field we still study
today called “rhetoric.”
Rhetoric relates very closely to reading, writing, and speech-making. It is a complex word, but the simple
definition is this: rhetoric encompasses the use of language in a specific, effective, and
convincing way; it is the art of using writing and speech to persuade an audience. Rhetoric is
also the study of language. In other words, to study rhetoric means to study the uses of language and how
language is used to persuade. In his thinking about rhetoric, Aristotle came to the conclusion that there are three basic appeals related to persuasive use of language—logos, pathos, and ethos. In other words, Aristotle divided the methods of persuasion and how to appeal to an audience into three categories: logos, pathos, and ethos. As Aristotle first said, the goal of argument is not to simply persuade and audience that you are right; instead, the goal is to convince your audience that your ideas are better and more valid than someone else’s. Rhetoric is not about attacking your opponent; it is about creating an argument that is stronger than his/hers. LOGOS (logic) Logos means persuading by using logic. Logos means using _____________________________. Giving reasons is the ____________________________ of argumentation and cannot be emphasized enough. There are two approaches to using logic: _____________________________ and _____________________________ reasoning, and logos means giving effective, persuasive reasons to support opinions, statements, and arguments. Logos is most powerful when it deals with absolute or _____________________________ information; unfortunately, most of the time you will just have _____________________________ evidence. (When explained honestly, probable reasons can be very persuasive though.) There are many types of _____________________________—otherwise called ____________________________— that one can use to support a thesis. There are also many common ways that writers use to mislead their audience by diverting readers’ attention from the true issue. These types of false/poor reasoning are called ___________________ ________________________—arguments that may sound good to uneducated audiences, non‐critical thinkers, and unobservant readers, but they are argument techniques that you should avoid in your writing. Logos is used to make an audience _____________________________ and having good reasons is absolutely necessary in writing; however, logos along often fails to _____________________________ people. It is best used when combined with other appeals. There are specific types of evidence that are logical. Some of these kinds of evidence are… ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ GUIDELINES FOR ANALYZING LOGOS: $ What clues are there that the writer is trying to be logical? $ Where does the writer use reasons that make sense? $ Is the writer’s thesis reasonable and worth considering? $ Is the writer’s supporting evidence clear, specific, and convincing? $ Does the writer use accurate facts, examples, and details? PATHOS (emotion) If you want to make people “think about” a problem, logos is a good appeal. But if you want to ________________________ people to do something or stop doing something, pathos is _____________________________. Pathos means persuading by appealing to a reader’s _____________________________. We can look at texts ranging from classic essays to contemporary advertisements to see how pathos—emotional appeals—are used to persuade. What most affects an audience’s emotional response is _______________________________________________, and emotional appeal can be effectively used to enhance an argument. However, one must be __________________________ and _________________________ when using pathos because overused or overdone emotional appeals can be misleading and distract readers/ listeners from the logic of an argument by _____________________________ their emotions and causing them to overlook reason. Pathos, the ancient philosophers discovered, can _____________________________ logic. Pathos can be ____________________________ but must be used _____________________________ and _____________________________. The word pathos comes from a Greek word meaning ____________________________. It’s other meanings include words like____________________________, ____________________________, ____________________________, and ____________________________. Pathos, however, should always be used with care, caution, and restraint because… Pathos can ________________________________________________________ because emotions are powerful. Pathos can be ____________________________ because it is easy to play on people’s emotions. Using too much pathos can damage a writer’s ____________________________, so it should be used without manipulation. There are tons of emotions that a writer/speaker can use to appeal to an audience’s emotions. Some of these include the following: affection, anger, contempt, delight, despair, embarrassment, envy, excitement, fear, guilt, hope, horror, humiliation, humor, jealously, joy, love, loyalty, passion, pity, pride, joy, remorse, ridicule, sadness, shame, shock, shyness, sorrow, vengeance. GUIDELINES FOR ANALYZING PATHOS $ What clues are there that the writer is appealing to the reader’s emotions? Does the writer use vivid description, examples, personal stories, or shocking facts to move you? $ What emotions do you think the writer is trying to rouse: sorrow, fear, guild, hope…? $ Is the pathos appropriate and used with restraint?—not faked or exaggerated in order to manipulate an audience.? $ How does the writer’s appeal to emotion reinforce his or her appeal to reason? ETHOS (character) If your audience senses that you are manipulating their emotions, pathos can _____________________________ and cause your audience to question your _____________________________. Ethos refers to the writer/speaker’s __________________________________. Ethos is also called the _____________________________ appeal. We tend to believe people whom we _____________________________. One of the central challenges of argumentation is project an impression to the reader that the writer is someone worth listening to; in other words, a writer/speaker must make him or herself into an _____________________________ on the subject, as well as someone who is _____________________________ and _______________________________. From different hints in the text, a reader a reader can hear a writer’s ___________________, which is the sound of a writer’s personality. In a piece of writing, the reader gets clues about the author’s personality, beliefs, and sense of right and wrong, which can help a reader decide if the author has a solid set of _______________________ and ______________________ that are the same or similar to those of the reader. Just as with pathos, ethos can be easily ____________________________. Sometimes, to create a _______________________________ impression, an irresponsible writer can present himself/herself as _________________________________, and immoral persons can present themselves as ______________________________. The best way to determine whether a writer is trustworthy is to do a little bit of ___________________________ on the writer. For a writer to be convincing, his/her readers must believe that he/she is _______________________ and _______________________, knows his/her _______________________, offers _________________ reasons, is __________________________________________ and uses pathos in a way that is _____________________________________. Readers can recognize ethos by looking at some specific features of the writing… ‐ the writer’s _____________________________ ‐ the writer’s _____________________________ ‐ the writer’s _____________________________ and _____________________________ are shared with the reader. ‐ the writer’s sense of _____________________________ and _____________________________ . ‐ whether the writer is _____________________________, _____________________________, and _____________________________. ‐ whether the writer gives good _____________________________ and uses pathos with _____________________________ . GUIDELINES FOR ANALYZING ETHOS $ What clues in the writing make you believe the writer is trustworthy, fair‐minded, and credible? Is there anything specific that suggest a good person to you? $ What clues, if any, make you believe the writer may be untrustworthy, not fair‐minded, and not credible? (Remember that actors can project any ethos needed for the situation.) $ What authority does the writer have on the subject? How can you tell the writer has had experience with the subject? $ What is the writer’s tone (attitude) toward the subject? Serious? Sincere? Indifferent? Sarcastic? Playful? $ What is the writer’s tone toward the audience? Friendly? Concerned? Indifferent? Arrogant. $ What voice do you hear in the writer—the sound of his/her personality? How does the voice suggest the writer’s moral character? $ How does the writer’s character reinforce his or her appeals to reason and to emotion? Some Attributes of Character (Ethos) Include: Compassion, courage, credibility, decency, dedication, dignity, enthusiasm, goodwill, honest, honor, idealism, intelligence, kindness, morality, nobility, patriotism, resolve, respect, responsibility, seriousness, sincerity, strength, trustworthiness, valor, vigor, wisdom