bradley 2013 ethos pathos logos
TRANSCRIPT
Discuss at your Table
• Think of your favorite commercial.
• What do you like about it?
• What makes it your favorite?
• Who is in it?
• What is said or shown?
• Does it make you want to buy that product?
Rhetoric = The Art of Persuasion
Who was Aristotle?Aristotle was a famous Greek
philosopher who studied the
art of persuasion.
Aristotle taught Alexander the Great how to properly argue and
perform a public speech.
Plato, another famous Greek
philosopher, was his teacher.
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
Aristotle
Plato
In approximately 300 B.C.E. Aristotle, who was a famous Greek philosopher, wrote a book entitled, “The Art of Rhetoric.” In his book, Aristotle identified the
three methods of persuasion. He called them ethos, pathos, and logos.
The Book
Ethos, Pathos, & Logos
There are several ways to appeal to an audience. Among them are appealing to ethos, pathos, and logos.
These appeals are prevalent in almost all arguments.
Ethos• Greek word ETHIKOS meaning moral or
showing moral character
• Speaker must establish moral credibility in the minds of audience, must show he/she has expertise in the subject matter
For example, when a trusted doctor gives you advice, you may not understand all of the medical reasoning behind the advice, but you nonetheless follow the directions because you believe that the doctor knows what he/she is talking about.
• Ethos = Ethics: refers to the trustworthiness of the speaker/writer.
• Ethos is an effective persuasive strategy because when we believe that the speaker does not intend to do us harm, we are more willing to listen to what s/he has to say.
• We base our opinion on the reputation of the speaker.
When a judge comments on legal precedent audiences tend to listen because it is the job of a judge to
know the nature of past legal cases.
Ethos - cont’d
How is this ethos?
How is this ethos?
Pathos• Pathos: related to the words pathetic,
sympathy, and empathy. • Accept a claim based on how it makes you
feel without fully analyzing the rationale behind the claim
• May persuade you with fear, love, patriotism, guilt, hate or joy.
• Society should not react to emotional arguments without fully considering all of the facts.
• The use of pathos can be manipulative• It is the cornerstone of moving people to
action and it will continue to be used again and again.
• Appeals to pathos touch a nerve and compel people to not only listen, but to also take the next step and act in the world.
Pathos – cont’d
• Pathos is the use of emotional appeal.
• Both words and pictures can achieve this appeal.
These print advertisements are meant to appeal to your emotions. Who can say no to
these faces?
How is this pathos?
Logos• Logos = logical appeal• Logos refers to any attempt to
appeal to the intellect.• Logos appeals to the left side
of the audience's brain. The audience finds certain patterns, conventions and modes of reasoning to be convincing and persuasive.
• The audience relies on reasoning and facts to make its decision. Numbers, polls and statistics are also examples of the persuasive use of logic.
Logos• The Mac vs. PC ads use logos • The type of logos that these ads use
is deductive reasoning. • These ads are very logical in the way
they approach their explanations of why a Mac is better than a PC.
How is this logos?
How is this logos?
REVIEWEthos, Pathos, & Logos
1. Ethos = an ethical or moral argument
2. Pathos = an emotional argument
3. Logos = a logical argument
Now you identify which rhetorical device…
Ethos, Pathos, & Logos
• Handy Peel Infomercial
• Gatorade Commercial
• SPAC Commercial
• Allen Iverson Commercial