ethos-pathos-logos

Ethos,PathosandLogosaremodesofpersuasionusedtoconvinceaudiences.Theyarealsoreferredtoasthethreeartisticproofs(Aristotlecoinedtheterms),andareallrepresentedbyGreekwords.Ethosortheethicalappeal,meanstoconvinceanaudienceoftheauthor’scredibilityorcharacter.Anauthorwoulduseethostoshowtohisaudiencethatheisacrediblesourceandisworthlisteningto.EthosistheGreekwordfor“character.”Theword“ethic”isderivedfromethos.Ethoscanbedevelopedbychoosinglanguagethatisappropriatefortheaudienceandtopic(alsomeanschoosingproperlevelofvocabulary),makingyourselfsoundfairorunbiased,introducingyourexpertiseorpedigree,andbyusingcorrectgrammarandsyntax.Pathosortheemotionalappeal,meanstopersuadeanaudiencebyappealingtotheiremotions.Authorsusepathostoinvokesympathyfromanaudience;tomaketheaudiencefeelwhatwhattheauthorwantsthemtofeel.Acommonuseofpathoswouldbetodrawpityfromanaudience.Anotheruseofpathoswouldbetoinspireangerfromanaudience;perhapsinordertopromptaction.PathosistheGreekwordforboth“suffering”and“experience.”Thewordsempathyandpatheticarederivedfrompathos.Pathoscanbedevelopedbyusingmeaningfullanguage,emotionaltone,emotionevokingexamples,storiesofemotionalevents,andimpliedmeanings.Logosortheappealtologic,meanstoconvinceanaudiencebyuseoflogicorreason.Touselogoswouldbetocitefactsandstatistics,historicalandliteralanalogies,andcitingcertainauthoritiesonasubject.LogosistheGreekwordfor“word,”howeverthetruedefinitiongoesbeyondthat,andcanbemostcloselydescribedas“thewordorthatbywhichtheinwardthoughtisexpressed,Lat.oratio;and,theinwardthoughtitself,Lat.Ratio.(1)Theword“logic”isderivedfromlogos.Logoscanbedevelopedbyusingadvanced,theoreticalorabstractlanguage,citingfacts(veryimportant),usinghistoricalandliteralanalogies,andbyconstructinglogicalarguments.Inordertopersuadeyouraudience,properofEthos,PathosandLogosisnecessary.ExamplesofEthos,LogosandPathos:ExampleofEthos:IwillendthiswarinIraqresponsibly,andfinishthefightagainstalQaedaandtheTalibaninAfghanistan.Iwillrebuildourmilitarytomeetfutureconflicts.ButIwillalsorenewthetough,directdiplomacythatcanpreventIranfromobtainingnuclearweaponsandcurbRussianaggression.Iwillbuildnewpartnershipstodefeatthethreatsofthe21stcentury:terrorismandnuclearproliferation;povertyandgenocide;climatechangeanddisease.AndIwillrestoreourmoralstanding,sothatAmericaisonceagainthatlast,besthopeforallwhoarecalledtothecauseoffreedom,wholongforlivesofpeace,andwhoyearnforabetterfuture.DemocraticPresidentialCandidateAcceptanceSpeechbyBarackObama.August28th,2008.ExampleofPathos:Iamnotunmindfulthatsomeofyouhavecomehereoutofgreattrialsandtribulations.Someofyouhavecomefreshfromnarrowjailcells.Andsomeofyouhavecomefromareaswhereyourquest--questforfreedomleftyoubatteredbythestormsofpersecutionandstaggeredbythewindsofpolicebrutality.Youhavebeentheveteransofcreativesuffering.Continuetoworkwiththefaiththatunearnedsufferingisredemptive.GobacktoMississippi,gobacktoAlabama,gobacktoSouthCarolina,gobacktoGeorgia,gobacktoLouisiana,gobacktotheslumsandghettosofournortherncities,knowingthatsomehowthissituationcanandwillbechanged.IHaveaDreambyMartinLutherKingJr.August28th,1963.ExampleofLogos:However,althoughprivatefinaldemand,output,andemploymenthaveindeedbeengrowingformorethanayear,thepaceofthatgrowthrecentlyappearssomewhatlessvigorousthanweexpected.Notably,sincestabilizinginmid-2009,realhouseholdspendingintheUnitedStateshasgrownintherangeof1to2percentatannualrates,arelativelymodestpace.Households'cautionisunderstandable.Importantly,thepainfullyslowrecoveryinthelabormarkethasrestrainedgrowthinlaborincome,raiseduncertaintyaboutjobsecurityandprospects,anddampedconfidence.Also,althoughconsumercreditshowssomesignsofthawing,responsestoourSeniorLoanOfficerOpinionSurveyonBankLendingPracticessuggestthatlendingstandardstohouseholdsgenerallyremaintight.TheEconomicOutlookandMonetaryPolicybyBenBernanke.August27th,2010.