Aristotle in the 21st Century
Title taken from “http://papyr.com/hypertextbooks/comp1/appeals.htm
The Three Appeals
Logical, Emotional, Ethical
Logical Appeal
Logical Appeal (logos) is the use of logic,
claims, and evidence to convince an
audience of an argument.
Aristotle believed the logical appeal to be
the most essential for valid arguments
Logical Appeals Have the Following
Characteristics
Strong Clear Claims
Claims or Reasons that are Valid
Strong Evidence (facts, statistics, expert
authority, etc.)
Uses definitions, analogies, anecdotes
Examples of Logical Appeals
1. Excerpt from MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps:
1) Collection of the facts to determine whether injustices
are alive. 2) Negotiation. 3) Self-purification and 4) Direct
action. We have gone through all of these steps in
Birmingham.
There can be no gainsaying of the fact that racial
injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably
the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States.
Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every
section of this country. Its unjust treatment of Negroes in
the courts is a notorious reality. There have been more
unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in
Birmingham than any city in this nation. These are the
hard, brutal and unbelievable facts. On the basis of
these conditions, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with
the city fathers. But the political leaders consistently
refused to engage in good faith negotiation."
Logical Appeals Cont.
2. Franklin Roosevelt’s First Fireside Chat: The Banking Crisis
March 12, 1933
American Rhetoric: Franklin Delano
Roosevelt - First Fireside Chat ("The
Banking Crisis")
Let’s Talk Sports
Errors in Logic or Logical Fallacies.
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Emotional Appeal
I’m Lovin’ It!
Emotional Appeals
Emotional appeals persuade audiences by
arousing the emotions. They refer to the
speaker or writer’s goal of arousing the
emotions of an audience to move them to
act.
Emotional Appeals Have the Following
Characteristics
Connect to audiences’ emotions
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Love/Nostalgia
Hatred
Pride
Fear
Patriotism
Greed/Desire
Often Reinforce Logical Arguments
Use Imagery and Metaphor to establish
connections / Often use Anecdotes
Examples of Emotional Appeals
1. Excerpt from MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the
stinging darts of segregation to say, 'Wait.' But when you
have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers
at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim;
when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick,
brutalize and even kill your black brothers and sisters
with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your
twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight
cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when
you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech
stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old
daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park
that has just been advertised on television, and see tears
welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is
closed to colored children, and see the depressing
clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky,
and see her begin to distort her little personality [...]
Emotional Appeals Cont.
American Rhetoric Movie Speech: All The
King's Men -- Willie Stark Campaigns for
Governor
American Rhetoric: Movie Speech from
Braveheart - William Wallace Addresses
the Scottish Army on Freedom
American Rhetoric Movie Speech from
Rocky Balboa - Address to the
Pennsylvania Athletic Commission
Emotional Appeals Cont.
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Powerpoint\YouTube - Chevrolet Trucks
'Like A Rock' Commercial.mpg
National Guard Movie Promotion
Emotional Appeals Cont.
Fear in Political Ads
President Lyndon Johnson Daisy Girl 1964
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 1964 - Accomplishments
President Bush The Wolves 2002
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 2004 - Safer, Stronger
President Bush / Willie Horton
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 1988 - Family/Children
Ethical Appeals
Ethical appeals are appeals that establish
trust and credibility with an audience
Ethical appeals often rely on an audience’s
sense of right and wrong
Ethics – “I’m Ralph
Wiggum and I’ve been
a good boy.”
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Ethical Appeals have the following
Characteristics
They establish intelligence, goodwill,
and virtue
They are unbiased and fair
They show the speaker is reliable
They use appropriate tone
Examples of Ethical Appeal
1. Excerpt from MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
"Several months ago our local affiliate here in
Birmingham invited us to be on call to engage in a
nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed
necessary. We readily consented and when the hour
came we lived up to our promises. So I am here, along
with several members of my staff, because I have basic
organizational ties here.
Beyond this, I am in Birmingham because injustice is
here. Just as the eighth century prophets left their little
villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond
the boundaries of their home towns; and just as the
Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the
gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and
city of the Graeco-Roman world, I too am compelled to
carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular home
town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the
Macedonian call for aid."
Opening argument of Socrates’ Defense from Plato’s The Apology
How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my
accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost
made me forget who I was - such was the effect of them; and yet
they have hardly spoken a word of truth. But many as their
falsehoods were, there was one of them which quite amazed me; - I
mean when they told you to be upon your guard, and not to let
yourselves be deceived by the force of my eloquence. They ought to
have been ashamed of saying this, because they were sure to be
detected as soon as I opened my lips and displayed my deficiency;
they certainly did appear to be most shameless in saying this,
unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth; for
then I do indeed admit that I am eloquent. [...]. And I must beg of you
to grant me one favor, which is this - If you hear me using the same
words in my defense which I have been in the habit of using, and
which most of you may have heard in the agora, and at the tables of
the money-changers, or anywhere else, I would ask you not to be
surprised at this, and not to interrupt me. For I am more than
seventy years of age, and this is the first time that I have ever
appeared in a court of law, and I am quite a stranger to the ways of
the place; and therefore I would have you regard me as if I were
really a stranger, whom you would excuse if he spoke in his native
tongue, and after the fashion of his country; - that I think is not an
unfair request. Never mind the manner, which may or may not be
good; but think only of the justice of my cause, and give heed to
that: let the judge decide justly and the speaker speak truly.
Examples of Ethical Appeal Cont.
American Rhetoric Movie Speech: All The
King's Men - Newly Elected Governor
Willie Stark Addresses the People
American Rhetoric: Movie Speech from
Other People's Money -- Andrew
Jorgenson Addresses New England Wire
and Cable Co. Stockholders
Ethical Appeals and Credibility
Credible? We’ll there’s no
denying his chutzpah!
Joe Camel: Smooth Character
but not Credible!
Ethical Appeals: How to Win Friends
and Emasculate your Enemies
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