Ethos, Pathos, Logos

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Ethos, Pathos, Logos
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Ethos

• how the author presents himself or herself. In
  other words, what are the author's qualifications
  for making this argument?

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Is he humble, sarcastic, arrogant, scientific,
etc. We make judgments all the time about
people's ethos.
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Think about going into your doctor's office and
seeing a medical degree from Harvard versus
seeing a degree from a no-name town university.
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What is the difference?
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The same is true about an author of a piece of
writing. The clues are more subtle but they are
there if you look for them.
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Pathos

• is more about the audience..

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How is the audience (of which you are a part)
being manipulated?
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If the writing is a story, and the story is very
sad and you are sitting at home crying while you
read it, are you going to be more sympathetic to
the argument that is being made?
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Commercials such as those put out by MADD or SADD
are heartwrenching when they show pictures or
talk about children who were killed by drunk
drivers.
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Does the emotion make you more sympathetic?
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Of course. You can still believe the argument is
valid, but it is important to realize that your
emotions are being manipulated.
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Other areas where this happens is during very
patriotic speeches in which you can almost
imagine hearing the national anthem playing in
the background.
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The argument may or may not be valid, but you are
being manipulated by your emotions. Be suspicious
of these arguments in general because our
emotions are funny things they can turn our
heads away from a very illogical argument
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If you can imagine music being played in the
background when you are reading or listening to a
speech, pathos is probably involved.
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Logos

• does not mean logic.

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Instead, it means where the author and audience
members meet. Where is the common ground between
the two?
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Both sides of a discussion must have common
ground on which they can build in order to have a
discussion.
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Major issues, such as abortion or capital
punishment, are problematic issues to discuss
because neither side can find any common ground
with the other side.
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Therefore, no discussion can take place. There
has to be common ground to build on in order to
have a discussion and find resolution. These
issues will never be resolved between the two
binaries because no common ground exists between
absolute black and white issues.
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George W.s 13 sentence speech

• George W. Bush has become notorious for being a
  poor orator. Many critics of Bush have bashed him
  for his verbal mistakes and for his choice of
  wording (He was even criticized for not speaking
  to the nation soon enough after the terrorist
  attacks on September 11. However, on September
  14, he gave one of the best speeches of his life.
  He spoke only thirteen sentences and did so in
  only three minutes.

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On September 14, Bush took a short helicopter
tour of the devastated New York area and then
walked between the piles of rubble. He talked
with volunteers, firefighters, and police
officers. Hearing chants of "USA! USA!" from the
workers, Bush took hold of a bullhorn, climbed to
the top of a small pile of rubble, and put his
arm around a fire fighter. Here is a transcript
of what happened
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CROWD U.S.A.! U.S.A.!THE PRESIDENT Thank you
all. I want you all to know --
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THE PRESIDENT I can't talk any louder.
(Laughter.) I want you all to know that America
today -- that America today is on bended knee in
prayer for the people whose lives were lost here,
for the workers who work here, for the families
who mourn. This nation stands with the good
people of New York City, and New Jersey and
Connecticut, as we mourn the loss of thousands of
our citizens.
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Q I can't hear you. THE PRESIDENT I can hear
you. (Applause.) I can hear you. The rest of the
world hears you. (Applause.) And the people who
knocked these buildings down will hear all of us
soon. (Applause.)
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CROWD U.S.A.! U.S.A.! THE PRESIDENT The nation
sends its love and compassion to everybody who is
here. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for
making the nation proud. And may God bless
America. (Applause.) CROWD U.S.A.! U.S.A.! (The
President waves small American flag.) (Applause.)
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Analysis
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Applying Aristotle's proofs to this situation you
can (1) clarify their definitions, (2) expose
their utility, and (3) draw insight to Bush's
speech.
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Ethos refers to "the study of human character"
and "the persuasive potential of the speaker's
character and personal credibility" According to
Aristotle, this proof was potentially the most
persuasive, although, logos or logic may be
considered most important today. When one's
character is seen as positive, we especially
trust or have confidence in the person trying to
persuade us When the speaker is seen as
trustworthy, knowledgeable, and interested in the
audience, the audience will likely accept what
the speaker says as true.
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Bush's display of ethos during this speech was
ubiquitous. Being a president that is willing to
come to the heart of the tragedy that had just
occurred, automatically lifted his character to
that of a person who is caring, compassionate,
and interested. His sense of eunoia or goodwill
was seen throughout his speech.
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Bush's slight nonverbal actions also bolstered
his sense of character. Throughout most of his
speech, he kept his arm wrapped around a lead
firefighter working at the scene. The two men,
standing in front of onlookers and millions of
Americans watching television, looked as if they
were good friends, glancing and nodding at one
another. Interestingly, Bush's three minute
speech was completely audience centered, which
has been known to affect ethos
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In all, his character and personhood came across
as that of a conscientious, concerned person. His
character shinned when he eloquently stated, "And
the people who knocked these buildings down will
hear all of us soon." Bush was persuading the
workers and the nation that our country is in
safe hands and that we will find whoever did
these terrible acts.
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Pathos
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Pathos refers to the study of human emotion,
emotional appeals, and the act of "putting the
audience in the right frame of mind" This
emotional side of the speech usually influences
our beliefs and has the potential to influence
our actions. According to Aristotle, pathos is
evident when the audience is "roused to emotion
by speech" The issues of morality also come into
play. Aristotle felt that there is a moral
imperative for correct judgment
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Before Bush even spoke a word, emotions were at
large. The crowd was chanting, "USA! USA!" A feel
of patriotism and pride mixed with an odd sense
of defeat and disgust surrounded the area and
nation. When a man shouted that he could not hear
Bush speak, and Bush replied, "I can't talk any
louder," the crowd laughed, putting them in a
state of emotional happiness. When Bush thanked
the workers for their treacherous labor, a sense
of pride and heroism was felt.
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Within pathos, Aristotle makes a distinction
between fear appeals and pity appeals. He
classifies fear appeals as the fear of physical
harm or death, fear of loss, or deprivation of
freedom
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"And the people who knocked down these buildings
will hear all of us soon," he was not creating
fear in American lives, but he was appealing to
the fears of whoever knocked down the buildings.
In addition, he used this fear appeal (aimed at
the opposers) to motivate, inspire, and persuade
Americans that we will retaliate.
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Aristotle also classified pity appeals, which
suggest or state "that someone or something
helpless is being harmed"
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Bush's numerous statements, such as, "The nation
sends its love and compassion to everybody who is
here", bring out emotions of pity and sympathy,
placing America as the "helpless and harmed." In
addition, the war torn environment in which the
speech took place added to the emotional
situation. Pathos was probably more influential
than any of the other proofs in this speech.
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Logos
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Logos has numerous definitions, but usually
refers to the words used, logical content or
reasoning, or thought expressed in words Logos
also means logical sense and may suggest
intellect or rationality. It is also the study of
"the arguments typical of the reasoning employed
in practical decision making"
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The concept of logos in Bush's speech may be the
hardest of the proofs to understand at first
sight when looking at the speech. Looking at
specific word use, Bush used an immense amount of
religious jargon. Phrases such as, "On bended
knee in prayer" and "May God bless America,"
appealed to both emotions (pathos) and to ways of
thought (logos) and religion.
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Logos took place on another level as well. There
was an argument that the country is united, still
alive, and ready to 'be heard.' When Bush
commented that "The nation stands with the good
people of New York City, and New Jersey and
Connecticut," he used logic to create an
imaginary link of unification between the people
devastated around the county. On another side, he
also made a subtle argument by his threat to
those who highjacked the planes and created such
massive destruction
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Bush did not just use logos, pathos, or ethos
alone. He used them in unison. He used them to
create a wholesome speech that was successful.
Pathos was used expertly the audience's
feelings, needs, and emotions connected with the
speech. Logos, or logical sense was displayed to
the listeners throughout the nation. Ethos, or
character and credibility, was also eloquently
displayed by Bush.
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Aristotle's artistic proofs are thousands of
years old, however, they still have practical
uses. They (1) allow the audience to understand
public speeches at a greater depth and (2) allow
the speaker to shape and mold her or his speech
to one of success. In addition, according to
Aristotle, they define the study of rhetoric. I
find Aristotle's artistic proofs to be one of the
most useful contributions to the study of
rhetoric