7 Key excerpts on "Classical Appeals"

• 

  eBook - ePub

  Teaching and Learning in English Language and Composition

  Advanced Placement and Beyond

  • David A Jolliffe, Hephzibah Roskelly, Bernard A Phelan(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Palmetto Publishing

    (Publisher)

  CHAPTER 11

  Understanding the Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos as “Perceived,” not Used”

  David A. Jolliffe

  As students are learning to analyze texts and write compositions explaining their analyses, it has become a common practice to teach them the three traditional appeals, set out in the first “textbook” on rhetoric, Aristotle's 4th -century B.C.E. Ars Rhetorica, or The Art of Rhetoric. Aristotle, a great empiricist and taxonomizer, noted that there are three ways a text could appeal to an audience:

  • By means of pathos, or an appeal to the audience's emotions;
  • By means of ethos, or an appeal to the character and credibility of the speaker or writer; and,
  • By means of logos, or an appeal to the logic of the text itself.

  While the three appeals can provide a decent starting point for analytic reading, their use by novice students can raise two problems, both of which can lead to superficial and even inaccurate analytic compositions.

  First of all, students are tempted to assert that pathos, ethos, and logos are consciously created by the writer of the text being analyzed—in other words, that the writer deliberately chooses to use one or more of the appeals in the text. This misunderstanding can be corrected by teaching students that the three appeals are features that an audience or reader or perceives in the text, rather than manifestations of conscious use on the part of the writer. Second, students are prone to naively objectify pathos, ethos, and logos—arguing, for example, that any piece of loaded diction represents an appeal to pathos; any story of personal experience represents an example of ethos; and any patch of “facts and statistics” represents an appeal to logos. This unwise tendency can be remedied with two teacherly moves: (a) By helping students comprehend the concept of audience in a more sophisticated light, thereby leading them to understand how actual readers or listeners might perceive the appeal; and (b) by teaching students to see that the three appeals are related—that what to one reader might be an appeal to logos to another reader might be an appeal to ethos and to another reader might be an appeal to pathos. For example, suppose that an author supports his central claim by citing an array of facts and statistics. Certainly, that might lead an analyzer to argue that these elements are an appeal to logos. But couldn't the analyzer also maintain that these facts and statistics are proof that the author has done his or her “homework” on the topic, so their inclusion might be seen as evidence of ethos. And suppose the analyzer is a person who finds great comfort, a sense of calmness, in an argument supported by facts and statistics. Couldn't their inclusion in the argument been seen as a source of pathos

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Speaking Persuasively

  The essential guide to giving dynamic presentations and speeches

  • Patsy McCarthy(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  rhetoric is now frequently used to criticise the way people describe their intentions, a derogatory term to suggest that intentions of the speaker are dishonest and hide the truth. However, as we have said, we believe that all attempts to describe the way ‘things really are’ rely on particular constructions of the meanings of those ‘things’. ‘Truth’ is not as clear cut a concept as we have been made to believe. Therefore, it is important for us to realise that, without being dishonest, we have the potential to construct ideas in ways which represent them to our advantage rather than disadvantage.

  THE PAST

  Aristotle’s traditional understanding of the term rhetoric is a very useful way to approach a modern understanding of persuasion. He attempted to describe the way social influence helps individuals achieve personal goals. He perceived rhetoric as the gentle art of persuasion, a study of what it means to be persuasive in any situation. Don’t misunderstand us—Aristotle didn’t invent persuasion. It has been around since people shared their first meal and lived together as a group. What Aristotle did was to describe how persuasion works. He had a very simple formula of three proofs or appeals which are used to make messages persuasive.

  THE APPEALS OF ETHOS, PATHOS AND LOGOS

  Ethos refers to the credibility of the speaker. It emphasises the fact that speakers are more effective as persuaders if they are believed by listeners to be credible sources. Listeners are immediately sceptical of speakers if their credibility and credentials are not readily apparent.

  Pathos refers to the emotional appeal made by the speaker to the listeners; it emphasises the fact that listeners respond with emotion to ideas. When citizens are asked by government to go to war in a foreign country for the sake of ‘the fatherland’ or ‘the mother country’, the dominant appeal is to pathos

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Dramatic Adventures in Rhetoric

  A Guide for Actors, Directors and Playwrights

  • Giles Taylor, Philip Wilson(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Oberon Books

    (Publisher)

  pathos. Although these terms may seem familiar, it is worth taking a brief look at their core values.

  Logos is taken from the Greek for ‘word’, and represents persuasion through reason. This approach centres on the argument, and draws on logic and rational explanation. Often, this was through the use of SYLLOGISMS and ENTHYMEMES . Key elements here are the clarity of the proposition, the logic inherent in its reasoning, and the effectiveness of the supporting evidence. Unsurprisingly, given Aristotle’s focus on truth, this was his favoured approach. Thinking of our own lives, don’t we tend to believe people whom we trust? While, conversely, if we don’t trust someone, do we not find it hard to accept their point of view? In terms of drama, it is interesting to consider the relationship not only between characters, but also between audience and actor in this regard.

  Ethos is from the Greek for ‘character’ or ‘habit’, and means persuasion through the credibility of the speaker. Hence our word ethics – the study of concepts of right and wrong. Where logos concentrates on the facts and figures, ethos is concerned more with the style and tone of delivery. The speaker is not neutral in the telling: their knowledge of the subject and expertise in the relevant field, along with their personal integrity, reputation and good character, come into play here.

  Pathos is the third proof, and comes from the Greek word that means both ‘experience’ and ‘suffering’. It appeals to the emotions of the listener, and arouses their interest and imagination, as well as their sympathy and desire to respond. Choice of words is critical here. Advertising would barely exist without the emotional appeals that are at the heart of the pathos approach.

  Alongside these proofs or appeals, Aristotle set out three genres of rhetoric, based on the aim of the speech, the function of the audience, and on the viewpoint of time. This trio is: dikanikon, epideiktikon and symbouleutikon

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Introduction to Classical Legal Rhetoric

  A Lost Heritage

  • Michael H. Frost(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  peroratio). Opening statements and the statement of the case are important in creating good first impression of the advocate, disclosing the client’s good character, and showing the justness of his cause. Closing arguments are critical in establishing a favorable emotional climate just before the conclusion of the trial and for refreshing the judge’s memory regarding sympathetic facts and arguments.

  Throughout their analysis, flexibility is a key theme. Each emotion has a particular purpose and must suit a particular context. Above all, it must suit the audience to whom it is addressed. Given the breadth and depth of their analysis of pathos, classical rhetoricians clearly thought it played an important part in persuasive discourse.

  ETHOS AND LAWYER CREDIBILITY

  Under classical theory, effective legal arguments depend almost as much on the advocate’s character and credibility, or ethos, as they do on logical integrity (logos) or emotional content (pathos). Moreover, for Aristotle, and for Cicero and Quintilian after him, projecting the proper ethos is as important as actually possessing it:

  [T]he speaker must not merely see to it that his [argument] shall be convincing and persuasive, but he must give the right impression of himself… This is [especially] true in forensic speaking [F]or in conducing to persuasion it is highly important that the speaker should evince a certain character, and that the judges should conceive him to be disposed towards them in a certain way …72

  Given the importance he attached to projecting character or credibility, Aristotle offered some practical suggestions about how to create the right impression: ‘[T]here are three things that gain our belief, namely, intelligence, character, and good will … This being so, the means by which one may give the impression of intelligence and good character are to be found in our analysis of the virtues.’73

  Within his analysis of these ‘virtues,’ Aristotle noted that affective or emotional arguments (pathos) frequently depend on an advocate’s ethos. Accordingly, he advised advocates to exploit the connections between pathos and ethos in order to make the judge more attentive: ‘[Y]ou may use each and all of these means [of emotional arguments] … with a view to making your audience receptive, and withal give an impression of yourself as a good and just man, for good character always commands more attention.’74

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Understanding Public Speaking

  A Learner's Guide to Persuasive Oratory

  • Braj Mohan(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Routledge India

    (Publisher)

  In short, a good orator knows how to play with the emotions of the audience. To create the required emotion, they sometimes use certain types of emotive metaphors and sometimes use certain paralinguistic modifications in pitch, pause and intensity. You will learn more about appeal to emotions in Chapter 9. 5.3. Logos (logic) Appeal to logic is a powerful tool of persuasion as man is a rational creature and wants some proof before believing in something. A speech without logical data and proofs looks insincere and it diminishes the trustworthiness of the speaker. Aristotle describes two basic tools of logical persuasion in the second book of Rhetoric. These two modes of logical persuasion, namely Paradigm and Enthymeme, are common to all three forms of Rhetoric. These modes form the core of logical persuasion. • Paradigm A paradigm is the use of examples, fables and parables to lead the audience to the intended conclusion. The speaker can either give factual examples from history and common natural phenomena or fictional examples from fables and parables. Aristotle prefers the use of paradigms at the end of a speech in this case the paradigm functions like a witness, and hence they are more effective. If the speaker has used enthymemes, the use of paradigm at the end of the speech supports his/her argument like a witness. If the speaker uses inductions, i.e. paradigms before the statement, there should be at least two of them (Kennedy 2007:161–64). • Enthymeme Aristotle describes enthymemes in relation to and with the help of maxim. A maxim is a pithy assertion “about things that involve actions and are to be chosen or avoided in regard to action”. It is an assertion about generality. If these maxims are followed by reasons and arguments in support, they become enthymemes. For example: There is no one of men who is free

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  The Psychology of Influence

  Theory, research and practice

  • Joop Pligt, Michael Vliek(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Also in this period, rhetorical skills became a very important part of the legal process. During the Enlightenment, rhetoric was elevated to the status of an art: the ability to elucidate aesthetic and psychological subject matters in as erudite a manner as possible. It was an activity reserved almost exclusively for the prosperous bourgeoisie. Rhetoric eventually became an aspect of what is now known as argumentation theory or studies – the academic discipline concerned with how we reach conclusions through logical reasoning. Persuasive argumentation is a form of communication using good arguments as a means of persuading or convincing others (see van Eemeren & Grootendorst, 2004). A large body of evidence suggests that the acceptance of a claim is largely determined by the quality of the argument (e.g., Park et al., 2007). Therefore, the first part of this chapter explores the classical tradition of rhetoric and argumentation studies, looking in particular at the structure of arguments and the question what makes an argument ‘good’, ‘strong’ or ‘valid’. In the second part we return to the dual-process models discussed in the previous chapter, which address the way people digest the information they receive. When do they think about the quality of arguments? When do strong arguments actually persuade people? What do they consider to be good arguments, and which less good? In the third part of this chapter we will discuss several figures of speech that can help in the persuasive process. Finally, we examine predictions from value-expectancy models that seek to reveal the influence of desirability and probability factors often used in arguments to persuade people to change their attitudes or behaviour. Argument and persuasion One way to persuade people to change their attitude or behaviour (e.g., stop smoking) is to give a strong reason for doing so (e.g., smoking kills)

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Emotions, persuasion, and public discourse in classical Athens

  Ancient Emotions II

  • Dimos Spatharas(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter

    (Publisher)

  chapter 4 offers a general discussion of the ideological uses of (what I call) ‘legitimate envy’ in democratic Athens, but also explores the ways in which Demosthenes invests with salience Meidias’ excessive lifestyle, thereby constructing emotion scripts of ‘indignation’. This section outlines methodological aspects pertaining to the interfaces between vision, emotions, and persuasion.

  Quite naturally, students of ancient oratory and rhetoric usually lay stress on verbal means of persuasion, thereby engaging in analysis and classification of speakers’ arguments. This logocentric approach to the surviving speeches has benefited in recent years from cognitive, appraisal-oriented approaches to emotions.15 Indeed, Aristotle’s Rhetoric , a treatise that has been tremendously influential in ancient and modern times, introduces what modern psychologists call cognitive approach to emotions or appraisal theory.16 A pioneering scholar in the field of cognitive psychology, Richard Lazarus (2001: 40), has pointed out, that “[T]hose who favor a cognitive-mediational approach must also recognize that Aristotle's Rhetoric more than two thousand years ago applied this kind of approach to a number of emotions in terms that seem remarkably modern”. Lazarus’ point about psychologists’ belated realization that cognitive approaches to emotions can be traced back to Aristotle also holds true in classicists’ study of pathopoiia . As I argue below, commonsensical approaches to speech’s pathopoiia commonly fail to explain how speakers’ ‘appeals to emotion’ operate to achieve persuasion.17 Notably, in his Rhetoric Aristotle deplores handbooks’ treatment of passions (and, in the same context, diabole –indeed, not a pathos 1354a 16–17), because they fall short of an adequate explanation of how pathe enhance rational types of proofs –the real object of rhetoric.18

  In spite of the fact that cognitive analysis, centering on verbally expressed emotion scripts, is particularly useful for the study of emotions, the emphasis that our sources place on the psychological impact of vision, one of the most distinct means of non-verbal persuasion in Greek culture has significant implications for the ways in which visuality is deployed in oratory. But the analysis of vision’s role in persuasion transcends the limits of literary criticism. Because in many cases ancient cultural (and scientific) models of vision are different from their modern counterparts,19

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book