Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
Deconstructing Jolliffe’s Rhetorical Framework
Jolliffe’s Rhetorical Framework Design
Exigence
Audience
Purpose
Logos
Ethos
Tone
Pathos
Organization/ Structure/ Form
Diction
Syntax
Imagery
Figurative
Language
But first, an enthymeme:
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A guy walks into a bar, and he’s obviously upset. “What’s wrong?” asks his
friend. “Oh, man, my life is about to be very rough!” says the first guy. “Both
my son and daughter are now in high school, so I’m not going to have any free
time anymore!” “Well,” says the second guy, “why’s that?” “Because,” the
first guy replied, “I just know I’ll have to help my daughter with high school
level math every night!”
!
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Claim, Data (evidence), Unspoken Assumption
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What do you think is the argument? What is the “take-home” idea?
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Evidence behind that argument?
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Unspoken premise/assumption?
Communication is tricky
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There are many pitfalls and things left unspoken for many reasons.
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So, in order to be an effective rhetor/communicator, you must be able to
navigate this.
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That means you have to know how to appeal to your audience!
You must appeal to your audience!
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Aristotle identified three sure-fire ways of appealing to audiences: ethos,
pathos, and logos.
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These appeals still work today and are prevalent in today’s arguments
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HOWEVER!!! We are going to UNLEARN those words. Do not use the terms
ethos, pathos, or logos in your writing!
Appeals to emotion
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Appeals to emotion can be extraordinarily powerful.
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All of us make decisions based on how we feel—even very important decisions
can be swayed by pure emotion.
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What is the argument? What makes the audience respond emotionally?
Emotional appeals
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Emotional appeals can be made with imagery, like the previous images, but
also with diction, syntax, and figurative language.
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From Obama’s speech after the death of Osama bin Laden: “Justice has been
done.” Using the passive voice keeps the emotion more neutral and calm,
creating an emphasis on justice, not revenge. It also allows him to distance
himself from the execution of the death of another human being.
POLITICAL CANDIDATE used PATHOS! It’s super effective!
Humor and satire (Appeals to pathos)
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“It brings to mind a story Mickey liked to tell on
himself and maybe some of you have heard it. He
pictured himself at the pearly gates, met by St.
Peter, who shook his head and said, ‘Mick, we
checked the record. We know some of what went
on. Sorry, we can’t let you in. But before you go,
God wants to know if you’d sign these six dozen
baseballs.’”
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~Bob Costas, “Eulogy for Mickey Mantle”
Ethos, the appeal to credibility
Basically, ethos is similar to reputation.
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Charlie Sheen is a critically-acclaimed
actor.
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Yet, the predilections of his Two and a Half
Men character crossed over into his real
life.
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His reputation became the womanizing,
big-boozing “bad boy” image.
Ethos as reputation, continued
Attacks on ethos
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv_44QQMcGo
Same theory, different example:
Logos, or hard evidence
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Inartistic claims: Arguments the
writer/speaker is given—not created
by the writer/speaker; hard
evidence; statistics, facts,
testimony, witnesses, contracts,
documents.
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Still susceptible to cherry-picking,
political slant, and/or bias.
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In groups, come up with at least
two claims that disagree with one
another based on the graph to the
right.
Stephen Fry:
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British
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Writer
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Actor
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Documentarian
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Film maker
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Video Game
Narrator
The man knows how to write.
Alright, now introduce the internet
warriors who take people to task based
on grammar.
They thought Fry would side with them.
He didn’t.
Part of Fry’s response to what he calls
“language pedants”.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY
In groups, answer these questions:
! What
is his central claim? His take-home
idea?
! What data/evidence does he use to support
the claim?
! How does he appeal to his audience
emotionally?
! How does he establish himself as credible?
Assignment (also in Canvas)
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You must collect one text (this could be an article, an
advertisement, a commercial, a billboard, a sermon—
basically ANYTHING!)
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Tell me the take-home idea—what is this arguing, and what
is it using as evidence/data?
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Is there anything that would make the audience respond
emotionally? Anything that makes the speaker/writer/
producer credible?
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What is the author’s attitude toward the subject matter?
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Answer all of these questions in complete sentences!
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This assignment is due next class.