Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

In high school I never took any AP or advanced English classes that addressed rhetoric, so this class is the first time that I have ever had to sit down and read work by Aristotle.  At first I was very overwhelmed by the vocabulary and writing style in Aristotle's On Rhetoric. However, once I began to pay more attention and break down what I was reading, I realized that it was actually pretty interesting. One concept that we didn't really elaborate much on in class that I thought was really interesting was Aristotle's 3 artistic proofs: ethos, pathos, and logos. 

  

Ethos refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker, pathos refers to the emotional appeal of the speaker's words on the audience, and logos refers to the consistency and clarity of the message. These proofs are basically just means of persuasion that are created by the speaker. In order to be an effective rhetor, you must be able to utilize all of the artistic proofs in a proper balance.  

Ethos is important because if you don't show yourself to be a credible source of information, who is going to listen to you? If you are reading a book and the author continuously misspells words and uses incorrect grammar, you are probably going to be less likely to believe the point that the author is trying to get across. 

Pathos, in my opinion, is the easiest proof to understand and to use.  A lot of people are very easily influenced by emotional appeals.  When you see the "Feed the Children" and ASPCA commercials, it catches your attention.  It makes you think for at least one second, that something should be done to help those children. Whether or not you actually take action is another story. 

Logos seems to be most often used in scholarly writing.  This proof appeals to the readers' logical side.  Syllogisms, enthymemes, and analogies are all forms of logos. Analogies allow the reader to relate a new idea to an old idea, therefore solidifying the concept in their mind.

These 3 artistic proofs can be seen daily, whether it is in a conversation that you have with your roommate, a commercial on TV, or a presidential address to the nation.  People often use these proofs without even realizing that they are doing it.