RhetoricLO: To understand rhetoric: ethos, pathos and logos.

What is Rhetoric?

Rhetoric is the art and study of the use of language with persuasive effect.

Rhetorical Triangle

Definitions

• Ethos-credibility or character as a reflection of the communicator. Often, ethical appeals are based on trust and community.

• Logos-facts, data, statistics of the message. The logos is the information presented as fact. Often, logos uses numbers.

• Pathos-emotions of the audience. Emotional appeals might inspire patriotism, happiness, sadness, anger, and other emotions in the audience.

All appeals work together and the most persuasive messages use all three…..pathos, ethos, and logos.

Let’s look at Aristotle…

• Aristotle (384 B.C.-322 B.C.) composed a body of work on defining rhetoric.

• His writings on rhetoric and the dialectic, developed more than 2000 years ago, are still relevant today.

It started in Greece.

• The term “rhetoric” arose to describe the tools and methods to actively persuade the listeners of the merits presented to them in political discussions.

• The term "dialectic" meant the form in which a discussion would take. Two or more people have opposing views on some issue which can be debated to persuade an audience that their view is correct.

Comparing Now and Then

Ancient Greece

• The Greeks met in their towns and villages. Most of the population would have little formal education. The Greek orator was praised by his fluency, stature, and ability to be heard.

Modern Day

• Today, persons who engage in public debate have a greater range of tools to incorporate to make their message known. Public relations firms are hired, professional speech writers are employed, and advertising is used to generate a positive public perception of their agenda.

What remains the same between the Greek use of rhetoric and those used in political system today?

• A speaker today still uses the logos, pathos, and ethos introduced by Aristotle. Speakers will use arguments whether or not backed by logic to make their point, the logos. They evoke the credibility of the speaker argument, the ethos, to say that it is "the right thing to do because I can be trusted”. And pathos, appeal to emotion.

Homework Task

•Memorise the Denotations of: Ethos, Pathos, Logos