INTRODUCTION TO
RHETORIC
Rhetoric Defined
 Merriam-Webster definition
 Aristotle: "the ability to discover, in any
given situation, the available means of
persuasion" [and, I would add, to use
those means effectively, which is the
theme of Aristotle's book Rhetoric as a
whole].
 Kenneth Burke: "the use of language as a
symbolic means of inducing cooperation in
beings that by nature respond to symbols."
The Rhetorical Situation
 Is a triangular relation among 3 elements:
SUBJECT/MESSAGE
SPEAKER
AUDIENCE
This relationship takes
place
in a particular social, verbal, and
physical context.
The same elements carry
different messages
Depending on what context they occur in.
For instance, if I spoke to you about the
subject of grading policy at the beginning of
the semester, and then again at the end of
the semester, the rhetorical situations would
be very different.
Three Modes of
Persuasion
Defined by Aristotle, these are:
LOGOS – persuasion based upon
logic;
ETHOS – persuasion based upon
the credibility of the speaker; and
PATHOS – persuasion based on
emotion.
These three modes
 Also correspond to the points of the rhetorical
triangle:
Logos -- SUBJECT
Ethos -SPEAKER
Pathos -AUDIENCE
LOGOS
Appeals to logic
(The Mind)
 Uses definitions, analogies, factual data,
statistics, and quotations
 Causes a cognitive, rational response
FAVORED IN ACADEMIC SETTINGS,
BUSINESS DOCUMENTS, LAW
ETHOS Appeals to character,
group values (ethics)
 Presents author or speaker as being reliable,
interesting, intelligent: somebody worth
emulating
 Appeals to our herd instinct: desire to be
accepted in a group
OFTEN USED IN
POLITICS, ADS
PATHOS
 Emotionally loaded
language
 Emotional, personal
examples
 Evokes an emotional
response
MOST POWERFUL
APPEAL, BUT ALSO
MOST LIKELY TO
BACKFIRE
Appeals to
emotions