Transcript Who is Aristotle?

The Forum:
Aristotle’s Model of Communication
Who is Aristotle?
A philosopher who lived in ancient Greece
about 2300 years ago.
He thought and wrote about many subjects:
science, politics, human nature, theater,
music and rhetoric.
He was hired to be the personal teacher to
Alexander the Great to help him prepare for
a career as a political leader.
He would have called communication
“rhetoric.”
Aristotle tutoring Alexander the Great
Aristotle’s Definition of Rhetoric
“Rhetoric” is “the faculty of
observing in any given case the
available means of persuasion”
(Rhetoric 1335bc).
Aristotle’s view of communication
emphasized the kind of communication
that a leader would need to persuade
people in the political forum.
Ethos, Logos, Pathos
Aristotle states that effective persuasion
always contains these three elements.
For Aristotle these are the building
blocks of good communication in the
public forum.
Ethos = Credibility
Language appropriate to audience and subject
Clothing is appropriate for the occasion.
Restrained, sincere, fair minded presentation
Appropriate level of vocabulary
Correct grammar
Image that matches audience expectations
Be truthful and honest
Aristotle says:
...character may
almost be called the
most effective means
of persuasion...
What Ethos means for speakers:
Know what your audience believes and wants.
If your audience has a good opinion of you
they are more likely to believe what you
have to say. If you are speaking to persuade
a teacher to give you an “A” then good
grammar is very important. If you are
speaking to a football team to persuade
them to play their best, being able to use the
vocabulary of the game is key.
What Ethos means for speakers:
This also means to dress appropriately for the
occasion. If you are a minister speaking in
church the kind of dress you will need to
have “ethos” is different from the kind of
clothing you would need to have credibility
persuading a motorcycle club to buy a
Harley from you.
Pathos = Passion
Vivid / Emotionally loaded language
Physical expression, face/gestures
Emotional examples
Vivid descriptions
Narratives of emotional events
Emotional tone, good energy level
Humor
Symbolic language
Aristotle says:
The arousing of prejudice, pity,
anger, and similar emotions has
nothing to do with the
essential facts, but is merely a
personal appeal to the man
who is judging the case.
What Pathos means for speakers:
Speak with energy and enthusiasm. Include
content in your speech that will make your
audience laugh or cry. Catch their attention
at the beginning. Use vivid and descriptive
language in your speech. Tell an interesting
story to illustrate your point. Connect with
your audience on an emotional level.
Logos = Logic
Definitions
Factual data and statistics
Quotations from experts and authorities
Theoretical, abstract language, Denotative
meanings/reasons
Historical comparisons
Informed opinions
“The whole is more than the
sum of its parts.”
&
“First, have a definite, clear
practical ideal; a goal, an
objective.”
"I count him
braver who
overcomes his
desires than him
who conquers
his enemies; for
the hardest
victory is the
victory over
self."
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Tools
Auditor
Pathos
Logos
Ethos
Speaker
Message
Excellence is an art won by
training and habituation.
We do not act rightly
because we have virtue or
excellence, but we rather
have those because we have
acted rightly. We are what
we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an
act but a habit.
United Nations Human Rights
Commission
City Council Meeting
School Board Meeting
“The educaTed differ
from the
uneducated as much
as the living from
The dead.”