Pathos, Logos, Ethos

The power of persuasion

English 3Parkway North High SchoolPomerantz/Wagener

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PathosAppeals to emotions

HeartGreek for suffering or experience

Convinces by Appealing to Audience’s Emotions

O CuteO ScaryO SadO Funny O PitifulO Happy

Pathos ExampleDr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream”

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Analyzing PathosO What emotions does Dr. King appeal

to?O How does the use of repetition

appeal to emotions?O Passion of speakerO Emotions of audience

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LogosAppeals to Logic

headGreek for word

Logos ExampleIan Ayres, “Looking Out for No. 2”We don’t have single-sex toilets at home, and we don’t need them at the office. Then there’s also the small question of efficiency. I see my male colleagues waiting in line to use the men’s room, when the women’s toilet is unoccupied. Which is precisely why Delta Airlines doesn’t label those two bathrooms at the back of the plane as being solely for men and women. It just wouldn’t fly.

Logos Example cont’dThe University of Chicago just got the 10 single-use restrooms on campus designated gender neutral. It’s time Yale followed suit. And this is not just an academic problem. There are tens of thousands of single-use toilets at workplaces and public spaces throughout the nation that are wrong-headedly designated for a single-sex. All these single-use toilets should stop discriminating. They should be open to all on a first-come, first-lock basis.

Analyzing LogosO Where does Ayres gather evidence?O How does he establish precedence?O What else could he have used to

appeal to the audience’s sense of logic and reason?

Convinces by Appealing to the Audience’s Sense of Logic

OFactsOEvidenceOReason

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EthosAppeals to Ethics and Credibility

handGreek for character

Convinces by Appealing to the Audience’s Sense of Ethics

O Based on character of the speaker

O Uses expertise of the speaker

O Uses even-handedness of the speaker

Ethos ExampleNancy Mairs, “On Being a Cripple”

First, the matter of semantics. I am a cripple. I choose this word to name me. I choose from among several possibilities, the most common of which are “handicapped” and “disabled.” I made the choice a number of years ago, without thinking, unaware of my motives for doing so. Even now, I am not sure what those motives are, but I recognize that they are complex and not entirely flattering.

People—crippled or not—wince at the word “cripple,” as they do not at “handicapped” or “disabled.” Perhaps I want them to wince. I want them to see me as a tough customer, one to whom the fates/gods/viruses have not been kind, but who can face the brutal truth of her existence squarely. As a cripple, I swagger.

Ethos AnalyzedO How does Mairs establish

credibility?O How does Mairs establish authority?O How does Mairs establish

trustworthiness?O What role does Mairs’ honesty play

in her ability to persuade her audience?

Aristotle and RhetoricO rhetoric is "the ability, in each

particular case, to see the available means of persuasion."

O three main forms of rhetoricO EthosO LogosO Pathos

Choices in RhetoricO Why would you need all three forms

of rhetoric in an argument?O Do some rhetorical strategies work

better than others?O Under what circumstances?O For what subjects?O For what kind of audience?

Argumentation Essential Questions

O How do I persuade others effectively?

O How do I use others’ views in my own argument?

O Why is it important to cite sources?