Aristotle’s Three Ways to Persuade. Who is Aristotle? Aristotle (384-322 BCE) is the most notable...

Aristotle’s Three Waysto Persuade

Who is Aristotle?Aristotle (384-322 BCE) is the most notable product of the educational program devised by Plato. Aristotle wrote on an amazing range of subjects, from logic, philosophy, and ethics to physics, biology, psychology, politics, and rhetoric.

What is rhetoric?

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion.

The goal of persuasion is to change others’ point of view or to move others to take action.

According to Aristotle, rhetoric is "the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion."

He described three main forms of rhetoric: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.

What is logos, ethos, and pathos?

Logos = Logic

Ethos = Character (Ethics), Image

Pathos = Emotions (Passion)

Logos, Ethos, Pathos

Using logos, ethos, and pathos will help you to master the art of persuasion.

• Through language, you will be able to change the point of view of others!

• Through language, you will be able to motivate others to take action!

Logos

Logos is an argument based on facts, evidence, and reason.

Using logos means appealing to the readers’ sense of what is logical.

EthosEthos is an argument based on character.

Using ethos means the writer or speaker appeals to the reader’s sense of ethical behavior. The writer or speaker presents him or herself to the audience as credible, trustworthy, honest, and ethical.

“I am an ethical expert, so believe what I say.”

Pathos

Pathos = argument based on feelings

Using pathos means appealing to readers’ emotions and feelings.

Symbols for Logos, Ethos, and Pathos

Logos = Head

Ethos = Hand

Pathos = Heart

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Logos Example

In the following example, note how Ian Ayres uses evidence from experience (her work environment, Delta Airlines, the University of Chicago). This evidence establishes the precedent that Ayres uses to compare to the current situation that she argues should be changed.

Logos Example

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 ExampleThe 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 and 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.

—Ian Ayres, “Looking Out for No. 2”

Ethos Example

In the following example, note how Nancy Mairs establishes her credibility and trustworthiness and authority to write about this subject by being honest. Mairs admits she is uncertain about her own motives and shows she understands the discomfort others have with this subject.

Ethos Example

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.

Ethos Examples 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.

—Nancy Mairs, “On Being a Cripple”

Pathos Example

In the following example from a speech by Winston Churchill, note the use of anaphora (repetition of a word or group of words at the beginning of items in a series).

This repetition emphasizes the point and expresses passion and emotion. Moreover, the repetition affects the audience emotionally.

Pathos ExampleWe shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.

—Winston Churchill, speech to the House of Commons, June 4, 1940

Review

Logos = logic

Logos is an argument based on facts, evidence and reason.

Using logos means appealing to the audience’s sense of what is logical.

ReviewEthos = Ethics / ImageEthos is an argument

based on character.The writer or speaker

presents him or herself to the reader as credible, trustworthy, honest and ethical.

“I am an ethical expert, so believe what I say.”

Review

Pathos = argument based on feelings

Using pathos means appealing to the audience’s emotions and feelings.

Pathos, Ethos, Logos

More on logos . . .

Using logos means basing an argument on facts, evidence and reason.

Aristotle split evidence into two categories:1. inartistic appeals (hard evidence)2. artistic appeals (reason and common

sense)

Hard evidence Facts Statistics Surveys Polls Testimonies Narratives Interviews

Using one of these types of evidence allows you to make a statement and then support that statement with proof.

Statement + Proof

or

Claim + Supporting Evidence

Formal Logic: Syllogism

A syllogism consists of three parts:Major PremiseMinor PremiseConclusion

A syllogism is also a form of deductive reasoning: the writer moves from a general premise to a specific conclusion.

Syllogism ExamplesMajor Premise: All human beings are mortal.Minor Premise: Socrates is a human being.Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

Major Premise: All Olympic runners are fast.Minor Premise: Usain Bolt is an Olympic runner.Conclusion: Therefore, Usain Bolt is fast.

Must Be Both Valid and True "A syllogism is valid (or logical) when its

conclusion follows from its premises. A syllogism is true when it makes accurate claims--that is, when the information it contains is consistent with the facts. To be sound, a syllogism must be both valid and true. "

Syllogism ExampleThe Declaration of Independence is based on a

syllogism:

Major Premise: Tyrannical rulers deserve no loyalty.

Minor Premise: King George III is a tyrannical ruler.

Conclusion: Therefore, King George III deserves no loyalty.

Faulty Syllogism In the case of faulty syllogism, the

conclusion derived does not necessarily follow from the preceding premises:

“Nobody is perfect.”

“I am nobody.”

“Therefore, I am perfect.”

Inductive Reasoning

Unlike deductive reasoning, which moves from general to specific, inductive reasoning moves from a hypothesis (a question) through all the evidence available to the conclusion. The conclusion may be based on an inference.

Hypothesis —> Evidence —> Conclusion

Inductive Reasoning ExampleHypothesis:

How did the living-room window get broken?Evidence: 1. There is a baseball on the floor.2. The baseball was not there this morning.3. Some children were playing baseball this afternoon.4. They were playing in the vacant lot across from the

window.5. They stopped a little while ago.6. They aren’t in the vacant lot now.

Inductive Reasoning Example

Conclusion:

One of the children hit or threw the ball through the window. Then they all ran away.

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle

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