Pathos, ethos and logos: Aristotle’s rhetoric

In Aristotle’s rhetoric, logos is the most prominent type of rhetoric. It refers to logical reasoning, to our attempt to use our intellect.

When we present our arguments, whether oral or written, we try to be persuasive. The public must understand our point of view, even before accepting our arguments. That’s what rhetoric is about, getting others to adopt our point of view.

So who better to explain rhetoric than Aristotle? Plato’s student’s studies focused on rhetoric. Therefore, Aristotle’s rhetoric consists of three categories: pathos, ethos and logos.

In Aristotle’s rhetoric, pathos, ethos and logos are the three fundamental pillars. Today, these three categories are considered different ways of convincing an audience about a particular topic, belief, or conclusion. Let’s delve into the topic below.

“You never reach the total truth, nor are you ever totally far from it.”

-Aristotle-

Aristotle’s pathos

Pathos It means ‘suffering and experience’. In Aristotle’s rhetoric, this translates to the ability of the speaker or writer to evoke emotions and feelings in his audience. He pathos It is associated with emotion, appeals to sympathize with the audience and awaken their imagination.

In essence, pathos is to seek empathy with the audience. When is it used, the arguer’s values, beliefs, and understanding are engaged and communicated to the audience through a story. Thus, studies such as those carried out at the University Nijmegen, in Norway, by doctors Frans Derkse, Jozien Bensing Empathy is key to improving not only communication, but the connection between people from an emotional point of view.

He pathos It is used when the arguments to be presented are controversial. Since these arguments usually lack logic, success will lie in the ability to empathize with the audience.

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For example, in an argument to legally ban abortion, vivid words can be used to describe babies and the innocence of new life to evoke sadness and concern from the audience.

Aristotle’s ethos

The second category, the ethosmeans character and comes from the word ethikos, which means moral and showing moral personality. For speakers and writers, he ethos It is formed by your credibility and similarity with the audience. The speaker must be trustworthy and respected as an expert on the subject.

For arguments to be effective, logical reasoning is not enough. The content must also be presented reliably to become credible.

According to Aristotle’s rhetoric, ethos It is particularly important to create interest in the audience. The tone and style of the message are going to be key to do so. In addition, character will also be influenced by the arguer’s reputation, which is independent of the message. For example, speaking to an audience as an equal, rather than as passive characters, increases the likelihood that people will get involved in actively listening to the arguments.

Aristotle’s logos

Logos It means word, speech or reason. In persuasion, he logos is logical reasoning behind the speaker’s statements. He logos refers to any attempt to appeal to the intellect, to logical arguments. In this way, logical reasoning has two forms: deductive and inductive.

Deductive reasoning argues that “if A is true and B is true, the intersection of A and B must also be true.”“.For example ⇔ the logos argument of “women like oranges” would be “women like fruits” and “oranges are fruits.” Inductive reasoning also uses premises, but the conclusion is only an expectation and may not necessarily be true because of its subjective nature. For example ⇔ the phrases “Peter likes comedy” and “this movie is a comedy” can reasonably conclude that “Peter will like this movie.”

Aristotle’s rhetoric

In Aristotle’s rhetoric, logos It was his favorite argumentative technique. However, In everyday life, everyday arguments depend to a greater extent on the pathos and of ethos. The combination of all three is used to make essays more persuasive and is the center of strategy in debate teams.

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People who master them have the ability to convince others to take a certain action or buy a product or service. Even so, in modernity pathos seems to have a greater influence. Populist speeches, which seek to excite more than to provide logical arguments, seem to be catching on more easily.

The same thing happens with fake news or fake news. Some even lack logic, but the public accepts them given their great capacity to empathize. Being aware of these three strategies of Aristotle’s rhetoric can help us better understand those messages that only attempt to persuade us through fallacies.