Rhetoric

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The Art of Persuasion

 Three Main Rhetorical Styles
• The goal of argumentative writing is
to persuade your audience that your
ideas are valid, or more valid than
someone else's.

• The Greek philosopher, Aristotle,

divided the means of persuasion into
three categories--Ethos, Pathos, and
Logos.
Who Exactly Was Aristotle?
Aristotle was a famous Greek
philosopher who studied the
art of persuasion.

Plato, another
famous Greek
philosopher, was his
teacher.

Aristotle taught Alexander the

Great how to properly argue and
perform a public speech.
 Aristotle’s Teachings
In approximately 300 B.C., Aristotle wrote The
Art of Rhetoric. In his book, Aristotle identified the three
methods of persuasion. He called them ethos, pathos
and logos.

Aristotle
Plato
 Ethos, Pathos and Logos
1. Ethos = an ethical or moral argument—
appeals to one’s sense of
credibility or trustworthiness

2. Pathos = an emotional argument—

appeals to one’s emotions

3. Logos = a logical argument—appeals

to one’s sense of logic
 Ethos
• The word "ethos" is the Greek word for
character. Aristotle contends that a speaker must
establish credibility in the minds of the audience.

• In order to do so, the speaker must show that he or

she has expertise in the subject matter and that he
or she is disconnected from topic (i.e., the speaker
does not and will not have a direct interest or an
ulterior motive for convincing his or her audience).
For example, when a trusted doctor
gives you advice, you may not
understand all of the medical
reasoning behind the advice, but you
nonetheless follow the directions
because you believe that the doctor
knows what he is talking about.
 Ethos continued …
• Ethos is related to the English word
ethics and refers to the trustworthiness of
the speaker/writer.
• Ethos is an effective persuasive strategy
because when we believe that the
speaker does not intend to do us harm,
we are more willing to listen to what he
has to say.
• Credibility can be established through
tone, reputation, the message at hand, or
various other ways

If someone as wealthy as Rihanna is using

Nivea, then you should too. She could
afford a lotion much more expensive, but
she stays beautiful with affordable Nivea.
 Pathos
• Pathos is the Greek word for “suffering” or
“experience or “passion.” It is related to the words
“sympathy” and “empathy.”
• Whenever you accept a claim based on how it
makes you feel without fully analyzing the rationale
behind the claim, you are acting on pathos.
• Those who wish to persuade you will play with your
emotions. They may persuade you with fear, love,
patriotism, guilt, hate or joy.
• Appeals of pathos are made through vivid
language/images and often evoke one’s sympathies
and/or imagination
• Although the use of pathos can be manipulative, it
is often the cornerstone of moving people to action.
 Pathos continued…
Better men than us have fought and died to
preserve this great nation. Now is our turn to return
the favor. For God and country, gentlemen!

You’ll make the right Do not be the last

decision because you person to do it. You will
have something that not be the laughingstock of
many people do: you have the community!
heart.
 Logos

• Logos is the Greek word for “logic.”

• Logos refers to any attempt to appeal to
the intellect.
• The audience relies on reasoning and
facts to make its decision.
• Numbers, polls and statistics are also
examples of the persuasive use of logic.
 Logos continued …
• You don’t need to jump off a bridge to know
that’s deadly. Thus, you don’t need to try
drugs to know they’re harmful.

• More than a hundred studies have been

done, and none of them have shown
harmful side effects.

• Guns don’t kill. People do.

Can all three forms of appeal be
used at once???
Ethos—Model
and celebrity
Brook Shields
uses this
product so it
must work
Pathos—I want
to look as
beautiful as
her
Logos—It’s FDA
approved and
prescribed by
 REVIEW
Ethos, Pathos and Logos
• Ethos: the source's credibility, the
speaker's/author's authority

• Logos: the logic used to support a claim

(induction and deduction); can also be the
facts and statistics used to help support the
argument.

• Pathos: the emotional or motivational

appeals; vivid language, emotional language,
and numerous sensory details.
 Ethos

Dr. Oz wants you

to eat spinach so
you grow up to be
strong, smart and
healthy.
 Pathos

You will make

Barney happy, Eat
Spinach
happy, happy!
 Pathos

I bet the hungry

children in Africa
would eat their
spinach, and they
would really be
thankful for it.
 Logos
•You should eat spinach
because it has Folic
Acid, Vitamin A, C and
Calcium.

•According to the CDC,

Ovarian cancer is the
fifth leading cause of
death, and researchers
found in 2008 that the
flavanoids in spinach can
prevent cancer.