WHAT IS THE RHETORICAL TRIANGLE?
THE BASIC TRIANGLE
Speaker/writer
Purpose
Audience/Reader
Subject/Message
ADDING TO THE TRIANGLE:
ARISTOTELIAN APPEALS
Speaker/writer
ETHOS
Ethos is credibility
(ethics/character).
How is the speaker
trustworthy?
*honest? Fair?
Educated? Reliable?
Purpose
Audience/Reader
Subject/Message
PATHOS
LOGOS
Pathos is the emotional
appeal (path= feeling).
How is the speaker
getting us to CARE?
Logos is the logic behind
the argument. Does it
give facts, statistics,
case studies, anecdotes,
etc.?
ETHOS: ARGUMENTS BASED ON CHARACTER
Three main elements combine to create ethos: trustworthiness (credibility), authority,
and motive (clear & unselfish)
Claims for ethos:
1. A person/group/institution is or is not trustworthy on this issue.
Example: BP Oil speaking against climate change.
The environment division of the Pew Charitable Trusts speaking
about clean energy.
2. A person/group/institution does or does not have the authority to speak to the
issue.
Example: Charlie Sheen giving a speech on integrity.
Example: Mahatma Ghandi giving a speech on integrity.
3. A person/group/institution does or does not have an unselfish/clear motive for
addressing this subject.
Example: The tobacco industry executives saying that cigarette smoke is
not good for your health.
A doctor saying that cigarette smoke is not good for your health..
ESTABLISHING ETHOS
How does one establish credibility?
1. Humor: Humor relaxes the audience and allows the audience to connect to the
speaker.
Example: President Obama making a joke about his birth controversy by
releasing his “birth video” which was a clip from The Lion King.
2. Connecting beliefs: Connect your own beliefs to those already established and
widely respected.
Example: Andrew Sullivan showed his approval of same-sex marriage by
connecting his beliefs to core family values, such as fostering
social cohesion, emotional security, and economic prudence.
3. Language use: Use language that shows your respect for readers’ intelligence.
Present your ideas clearly and fairly, yet admit limitations when they present
themselves. Also, talking directly to the audience using you or I can help to
connect with them.
Example:
*NOT ONE ALONE
CAN ESTABLISH
CREDIBILITY*
CLAIMING AUTHORITY
Be ready to answer questions such as the following, when evaluating text:
1. What does he/she know about the subject?
2. What experiences does he/she have that make you especially knowledgeable?
3. Why should I pay attention to him/her?
Examples:
Terry Tempest Williams’ speech about the nuclear poisoning of the Utah deserts:
“I belong to the Clan of One-Breasted Women. My mother, my
grandmother, and six aunts have all had mastectomies. Seven are dead.
The two who survive have just completed rounds of chemotherapy and
radiation.
I’ve had my own problems: two biopsies for breast cancer and a small
tumor between my ribs diagnosed as ‘borderline malignancy.’ ”
WHAT’S THE MOTIVATION?
Look closely at a person’s motivation before making decisions.
1. Whose interests are being served?
2. How will they profit from their proposal?
USE ETHOS YOURSELF!
How can YOU establish your credibility?
1. Connect to your audience’s values, show respect for them, establish common
ground, and admit your own limitations.
2. Do your homework—know your topic inside and out! Use personal experiences
where possible.
3. Be ready to answer for your motives. Are you gaining in any way from your
argument?
A little test: Take a look at your Twitter feed/Facebook feed, Instagram, or Snapchat
and analyze the ethos you see projected there. What are you conveying through your
photos, videos, and messages that you post/like online?
PATHOS: ARGUMENTS BASED ON EMOTION
We all make decisions based on our emotions.
Example of Pathos: President Obama’s address to the nation to announce Osama
bin Ladin’s death—
“The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory…And yet we
know that the worst images are those that were unseen in the world. The
empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up
without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the
feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly three thousand citizens taken from
us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.”
•
Emotional appeals can also strengthen logical claims.
• Be careful using really strong emotions like outrage, pity, shame, anger because
they can make people uncomfortable.
• Anger can add energy to a text, but be careful!
• Humor
•
•
•
•
•
Practice: To what specific emotions do the following examples appeal?
“Just do it.” (Nike ad)
“Think different.” (Apple computers ad)
“Reach out and touch someone.” (AT&T ad)
“It’s everywhere you want to be.” (Visa slogan)
LOGOS: ARGUMENTS BASED ON FACTS & REASON
There are two kinds of logical arguments:
1. Artistic Proofs:
• Arguments the speaker/writer creates
• Constructed arguments
• Appeals to reason/common sense
• Example: “Determining what is real can be a challenge in our culture, but in
order to make wise choices in the presence of such grave risks, we must use
common sense and the rule of reason in coming to an agreement on what is
true.” ~Al Gore, 10/14/2011
2. Inartistic Proofs:
• Arguments the speaker/writer is given
• Hard evidence
• Facts, statistics, testimonies, witnesses, contracts, documents
• Example:”…the scientific consensus is even stronger. It has been endorsed by
every National Academy of science of every major country on the planet, every
major professional scientific society related to the study of global warming and
98 percent of climate scientists throughout the world. In the latest and most
authoritative study by three thousand of the very best scientific experts in the
world, the evidence was judged ‘unequivocal.’ ” ~Al Gore, 10/14/2011
WATCH OUT!
To determine the logic of an argument, you must evaluate all data carefully!
1. Look out for manipulated images!
2. Make sure statistics represent the whole truth.
3. Question poll results: Who commissioned the poll? Who is publishing its
outcome? Who was surveyed? What stakes do these parties have in the
outcome?
4. Make sure testimonies and narratives used are from trustworthy
sources!
5. Make sure conclusions are logical! (We’ll discuss this more in-depth
later!)
6. Analyze the structure of the argument:
Degree: “If I can get a ten-year warranty on an inexpensive Kia, shouldn’t I get the same or
better warranty from a more expensive Lexus?”
Analogy (complex comparisons): “When we don’t get the results we want in our military
endeavors, we don’t blame the soldiers. We don’t say ‘It’s these lazy soldiers and their
bloated benefits plans! That’s why we haven’t done better in Afghanistan!’ No one
contemplates blaming the men and women fighting every day in the trenches for little pay
and scant recognition. And yet in education we do just that. When we don’t like the way our
students score on international standardized tests, we blame the teachers.” ~Dave Eggers
and Ninive Calegari “The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries”
Precedent: “If motorists in most other states can pump their own gas safely, surely the state
of Oregon can trust its own drivers to be as capable. It’s time for Oregon to permit selfservice gas stations.”
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
ETHOS: Pay attention to how the speaker establishes a
persona, how the speaker establishes credibility
(credentials/personal history).
pathos: Make note of who is the intended (primary)
audience, what appeals are used, and what the author’s
expectations are of the audience.
logos: What are the claims made? What data is provided
to support those claims? What conclusions does the speaker
draw?
ADDING TO THE TRIANGLE:
ARISTOTELIAN APPEAL
Speaker/writer
FALLACIES
ETHOS
Ethical Fallacies:
*ad hominem
*guilt by association
Purpose
Audience/Reader
Subject/Message
PATHOS
LOGOS
Emotional Fallacies:
*bandwagon
*flattery
*in-crowd
*veiled threats
*false analogy
*weasel words
Logical Fallacies:
*begging the question
*post hoc fallacy
*non sequitur
*either-or
*hasty generalization
*oversimplification