Rhetorical Appeals:
Logos, Pathos, Ethos
Rhetoric: A brief history
 Rhetoric is the study of writing or
speaking as a means of
communication or persuasion.
 The history of rhetoric reaches back
to the beginnings of human culture.
 Ancient Greek civilization gave birth
to some of human history’s great
philosophers—Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle.
Socrates: Ancient Greek Philosopher
Socrates was an ancient
Greek philosopher who is
widely credited for laying the
foundation for Western
philosophy. The trial and
execution of Socrates was the
climax of his career and the
central event of the dialogues
of Plato. Socrates admits in
court that he could have
avoided the trial by
abandoning philosophy and
going home to mind his own
business.
Plato: Ancient Greek Philosopher
Plato was an ancient Greek
philosopher, as well as a
mathematician, writer of
philosophical dialogues, and
founder of the Academy in
Athens. Plato is widely
believed to have been a
student of Socrates and to
have been deeply influenced
by his teacher's unjust death.
Plato's brilliance as a writer
and thinker can be witnessed
by reading his Socratic
dialogues.
Aristotle: The Great Philosopher
Aristotle was a Greek
philosopher, a student of Plato
and teacher of Alexander the
Great. He wrote on diverse
subjects, including physics,
metaphysics, poetry (including
theater), biology and zoology,
logic, rhetoric, politics,
government, and ethics. Along
with Socrates and Plato,
Aristotle was one of the most
influential of the ancient Greek
philosophers.
-en.wikipedia.org
Rhetorical Appeals
Aristotle named three rhetorical appeals
 Logos: logical appeal
 Pathos: emotional appeal
 Ethos: ethical appeal
The Rhetorical Triangle
The Greek philosophers
also gave us the
rhetorical triangle,
which argues that all
forms of communication
are a conversation
between the text, the
audience and the
author.
Text
(Logos)
conversation
Audience
(Pathos)
Author
(Ethos)
The Triple Threat: logos, pathos, ethos
Most persuasive texts
will use some
combination of the three
appeals to get their
message across. Each of
the appeals corresponds
to a part of the
rhetorical triangle
(pictured here).
Text
(Logos)
conversation
Audience
(Pathos)
Author
(Ethos)
Logos
 Logos appeals to logic and may
include facts, statistics, or “quotes”
 This information is used as evidence
within the text to support your
argument and persuade the audience.
Example: “Nine out of ten health
professionals agree, an apple a day
really does keep the doctor away.”
Logos: related vocabulary
 Logos literally means the “word”
 Dialogue is the exchange of words
between two people.
 A monologue is the delivery of words
from one person without any
expectation of a response.
 A logo is a symbol that represents all
the words (and ideas) associated with
a company or brand.
Logos: another example
Here we see a chart
showing a correlation
between the fall of
pirates and rise of
natural disasters. Are
you convinced by
these statistics?
Logos: more examples
(Can you identify the logical appeals used in these cartoons?)
Pathos
 Pathos appeals to the emotions,
needs and wants of the listener.
 This strategy attempts to influence or
manipulate the emotions and desires
of the audience in order to persuade
or convince the listener that their
argument is true.
Can you name any propaganda techniques
that rely on emotional appeals?
Pathos: related vocabulary
 Sympathy and empathy are both
emotional states and have to do with
shared feelings.
 Pathological liars have no feelings of
guilt when they do not tell the truth.
 If someone is pathetic, they are
pitifully sad.
Pathos: a second look
(Can you identify the emotional appeals used below?)
Pathos: the power of story
Many of the stories we
hear and read as children
are written to appeal to
our emotions so that we
will be persuaded to
follow certain social and
moral codes (which brings
us to the next part of the
rhetorical triangle—
ethos… Can you name the
moral of the story?)
Ethos
 Ethos appeals to our sense of ethics,
including social and moral codes,
trust, and credibility.
 There are two kinds of ethos—artistic
and inartistic.
 Artistic ethos is created and sustained
through the delivery of the message.
 Inartistic ethos pre-exists and comes
along with someone’s status or station.
For example…
 An officer of the law has inartistic
ethos because of the station they
hold (we trust them because of their
position).
 However, that same officer can lose
our trust by their actions, as in the
case of Rodney King.
For example…
 The President of the United States
has inartistic ethos because of their
station (we applaud Presidents when
they enter a room to deliver a
speech).
 However, the President can lose our
trust through his or her actions (or
through their artistic ethos).
Can you think of any other examples?
Ethos: related vocabulary
 Ethics are a set of moral principles, or a
theory or system of moral values.
 If you are an ethical person, you are
considered a good person and you most
likely follow the rules.
 If someone has a good work ethic, they
have a strong belief in work as a moral
good. In other words, they work hard
because they believe it is the right thing to
do.
Now that you know…
see if you can identify how
each of the appeals—logos,
pathos, and ethos—are
used in the following print
advertisements. Here is
your first chance to try out
your knowledge… The
Magnus Harmonica!
And NOW this…
Now that we have looked
closely at a selection of
advertisements, let’s see
if any of the things you
noticed match what I
saw… What appeals did
you notice and how were
they used?
Did you notice… ?
Pathos: The expressions on their face
communicate specific emotions. The word “free”
is also shown in the description (this is a loaded
or emotional word). The words, “What you need
is a Magnus…” suggest that the harmonica will
be the solution to the man’s unhappiness. The
words, “easy to play” seem to say that the man
will have no trouble playing the harmonica on
the first try, so he will not be disappointed in his
performance (and his unhappiness will be
relieved). The ad goes on to say that you can
“learn to play in 5 minutes”
Ethos: The harmonica is sold by a company
called “International Plastic Harmonica
Corporation.” This suggests that this brand of
harmonica is known around the world (although,
if we look carefully, we notice that their business
is run out of Newark, NJ).
Logos: The description of the harmonica offers
us specific facts and features that persuade us to
purchase the harmonica—”instructions in every
package…can be washed in soap and water…”
They also offer us a choice of colors and pricing
options.
Pathos: Everyone shown in this image is
smiling. Happiness seems to surround them
as they sit together in what seems to be a
ski lodge. They are dressed warmly and are
sitting near a glowing fireplace. The red of
the cigarette package stands out against
the black and white image—this seems to
suggest that the owner of the cigarettes
might also “distinguish” himself (or stand
out from the crowd) by owning the
cigarettes. Loaded words like “smooth,”
“finest quality,” “distinguished," and “finest
money can buy” suggest wealthy and upper
class living.
Ethos: Pall Mall attempts to give their
argument credibility by showing us a
picture of one man offering the cigarettes
to another. The man offering the cigarettes
seems slightly older than the man receiving
the cigarettes, maybe suggesting that the
older man’s experience qualifies him to
make a recommendation.
Logos: Interestingly, there is little or no
evidence of a logical appeal, although the
words, “guard against throat scratch” seem
to suggest that smoking other brands will
cause your throat to scratch.
Pathos: As in the other advertisement,
everyone shown in this image is smiling.
Happiness seems to surround them as they
sit together in the seats of a Greyhound
bus. Everyone is formally dressed and
neatly groomed. “The friendly way to
travel” suggests that driving in a car, or
riding your bike, are more aggressive. The
ad also states, “The people you meet
aboard a Greyhound somehow seem more
neighborly, more relaxed, easier to talk to.”
In fact, it looks like this group of people
could have come from the same
neighborhood.
Ethos: The ethical appeal is harder to see.
Greyhound seems to be relying on the
credibility of it’s name, and it’s presentation
as a safe and clean environment in the
advertisement.
Logos: Greyhound uses it’s low fares as
evidence to support the passenger’s
friendly attitude: “a person who has bought
a travel bargain is sure to be in a pleasant
frame of mind.” They don’t offer any
specific pricing information, however.
Pathos: The man appears to be in the
role of the husband returning home to
his wife after a long day of work. He
reaches for her, hat in hand, and
instead of the “royal welcome” he
expects, the man is greeted by the
scrutinizing stare of his wife, whose
expression seems to communicate
suspicion, anxiety and possibly
disgust. The font exclaims:
“INFECTIOUS DANDRUFF!” Infectious
is a loaded or emotional word that
carries a negative connotation similar
in tone to the expression on the
woman’s face.
Ethos: The ethical argument is harder
to see and seems connected to the
pseudoscience (false scientific facts
and information) pictured on the
man’s shoulder.
Logos: The close-up image of the
germs, flakes, and scales pictured on
the man’s shoulder attempt to create
a sense of scientific evidence,
although they ultimately come across
as specious.