Transcript Rhetoric: A presentation on the fundamentals of rhetoric

Rhetoric: A presentation on the fundamentals of rhetoric, and
its background.
Modern Rhetoric
• Have you recently
• Modern Rhetoric
been in a friendly
can best be defined
(or heated) debate
by Kenneth Burke,
with
someone?
who said “rhetoric
is the ability to
• What was the
move bodies to
outcome of the
action.”
debate?
Origins
•
Rhetoric really began
to be studied by the
Greeks, since they
were the first
recorded civilization
to use a form of
democratic
government.
• With a representative
government, and no head
of state to preside over
them, the Greeks had
fierce and long debates
about public policy.
• It became incredibly
beneficial for a
representative to
learn the art of
persuasion.
Origins
One of the earliest known primary sources
over the fundamentals of rhetoric in the
western world comes from Greece.
Aristotle
Aristotle
• Greek philosopher
• Lived 384-322 B. C.
• Expressed (among
many other ideas) a
theory on “rhetoric”
A Definition for
Rhetoric
• Rhetoric is, in essence,
the art of persuasion, and
Aristotle defined this art
as "the faculty of
observing in any given
case the available means
of persuasion." In other
words, it is the art of
finding the best way to
persuade a particular
audience in a particular
situation.
Aristotle’s Classical
Appeals
Aristotle identified three appeals that can be used to convince
the audience. An appeal to ethos (to establish the speaker’s
character and values). An appeal to pathos (to stir emotions).
And an appeal to logos (to show the audience the logic and
truth of the argument).
Logos
Logos = logic
Logos is an argument
based on facts, evidence
and reason.
Using logos means appealing
to the readers’ sense of
what is logical.
Ethos
Ethos = Ethics / Image
Ethos is an argument based on
character.
The writer or speaker presents
him or herself to the reader as
credible, trustworthy, honest
and ethical.
Pathos
Pathos = argument
based on feelings
Using pathos means
appealing to readers’
emotions and feelings.
Logos
▪ Logos are appeals to logic.
▪ In using logos, the rhetorician appeals
to the audience’s rational side.
▪ Logos involves building arguments
through evidence, inferring logical
conclusions from the evidence.
Logos
Log
os means logic
• Logos refers to any attempt to appeal to the
intellect.
• Logos appeals to the left side of the audience's
brain. The audience finds certain patterns,
conventions and modes of reasoning to be
convincing and persuasive. The audience relies
on reasoning and facts to make its
decision. Numbers, polls and statistics are also
examples of the persuasive use of logic.
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.”
Human Beings Not
Driven Solely by Logic
• Aristotle was a firm believer in logic.
• However, he was enough of a realist to recognize that
humans are emotional beings who make decisions
based, in part, upon emotion.
• Thus, Aristotle acknowledged that a rhetorician would
be neglecting some of the “available means of
persuasion” if the rhetorician did not also appeal to
the audience’s emotion.
Pathos
• Pathos: Pathos is related to the words pathetic, sympathy and
empathy.
• Whenever you accept a claim based on how it makes you feel
without fully analyzing the rationale behind the claim, you are
acting on pathos.
• Those who wish to persuade you will play with your
emotions. They may persuade you with fear, love, patriotism,
guilt, hate or joy.
• A majority of arguments in the popular press are heavily
dependent on appealing to your emotions. We, as a society,
should not react to emotional arguments without fully
considering all of the facts.
• Although the use of pathos can be manipulative, it is the
cornerstone of moving people to action and it will continue to
be used again and again.
• Appeals to pathos touch a nerve and compel people to not
only listen, but to also take the next step and act in the world.
Pathos = an emotional argument
• An effective use of pathos will alter the mindsets of the
audience through the use of emotional appeal.
• Both words and pictures can achieve this appeal. In this
picture, Haitian children are collecting water. Children and
adults spend all day digging for water because most of Haiti
does not have access to water.
Pathos
in review
▪ Pathos are appeals to emotion
▪ With pathetic appeals, the
rhetorician attempts to move the
audience by tapping into their
emotional side.
▪ Often, pathos involves appealing to
the audience’s sense of empathy,
compassion, sympathy, pride or
even anger or outrage.
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 Example
We 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
Ethos
▪ Ethos are arguments or statements made
by the rhetorician that are designed to
build his or her credibility with the audience
▪ With ethical appeals, the rhetorician
“ingratiates himself with an audience--and
thereby gains their trust and admiration--if
he manages to create the impression that
he is a person of intelligence, benevolence,
and probity” (Corbett and Connors, authors
of Classical Rhetoric for the Modern
Student).
Ethos
The word "ethos" came from the Greek word ethikos
meaning moral or showing moral character. Aristotle
contends that a speaker must establish moral credibility in
the minds of the audience at the beginning of his or her
speech. In order to do so, the speaker must show that he or
she has expertise in the subject matter of the speech and that
he or she is disconnected from topic (i.e., the speaker does
not and will not have a direct interest or an ulterior motive
for convincing their audience).
For example, when a trusted doctor gives you
advice, you may not understand all of the
medical reasoning behind the advice, but you
nonetheless follow the directions because you
believe that the doctor knows what s/he is
talking about.
Ethos = an appeal to ethics
• Ethos: Ethos is related to the English word ethics and refers to the
trustworthiness of the speaker/writer.
• Ethos is an effective persuasive strategy because when we believe
that the speaker does not intend to do us harm, we are more
willing to listen to what s/he has to say.
• Likewise, when a judge comments on legal precedent audiences
tend to listen because it is the job of a judge to know the nature of
past legal cases.
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 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”
The Rhetorical Triangle
•
Logos
Possible Distortion:
Abstraction
Subject
•
Speaker
Ethos
Possible Distortion:
Egotism
Audience
Pathos
Possible Distortion:
Propaganda
When you engage in rhetoric, you
are related to the audience and
your subject. A well-balanced
argument gives attention to all
three points of the triangle,
establishing your authority (ethos),
drawing the audience emotionally
(pathos), and doing justice to the
facts (logos).
However, if you give too much
emphasis to facts, you can fall into
a kind of distortion: making the
subject seem cold and abstract. If
you lean too much toward the
audience, you can start to create
propaganda. And if you put to
much emphasis on your own
character and values, you will seem
egotistical.
Awareness of Audience
▪ If rhetoric is defined as the art of
discovering all the available means of
persuasion, it would stand to reason
that a rhetorician would need to have a
keen sense of who his audience is and
what “makes them tick.”
▪ A skilled rhetorician would recognize
that he should tailor his appeals to fit
his specific audience. (i.e. How do I
need to build my credibility with this
particular audience? Which emotions
do I need to stir in this particular
audience?)
?
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!