Ethos, Pathos, and Logos: Aristotle's Rhetorical Strategies

Persuasion is the art of encouraging an audience to accept that one's thoughts and concepts are effective or more useful than someone else's. The Greek theorist Aristotle separated the means of influence — which he called petitions — into three categories: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. The image interpreted in this essay, depicting a lone figure pursuing a different path from the rest with the caption "My way…and no regrets…," is in many ways a good representation of rhetorical strategies. One attempts to do things in such a way that enables others to follow suit, or at the very least generates personal satisfaction. This essay illuminates not only what the three categories of rhetorical strategies are, but also what they mean when applied to persuasion, drawing on four scholarly articles along with a brief background and definition of each strategy.

Ethos (trustworthiness), or ethical appeal, means persuasion through the character of the writer or speaker. People tend to believe those they respect or admire. One of the fundamental challenges of argumentation is conveying to an audience or reader that one is worthy of being heard or acknowledged. The speaker must become, at least in the eyes of the audience, an expert on the topic, while also coming across as congenial and worthy of respect. Politicians, for example, frequently make an effort to appear both casual and approachable as well as well-informed on their speech topics — projecting an image of both friendliness and competence.

A writer's ethos is fashioned principally through word choice and style. Inexperienced writers or speakers frequently struggle with ethos because they are asked to write essays, reports, and other texts as if they can speak credibly on a subject, when in fact they are newcomers to both the topic and the academic community. Occasionally, students attempt to create an academic appearance by using a thesaurus to scatter unusual and difficult words throughout their writing. Unfortunately, this approach regularly fails, because it is very difficult to use a word appropriately that one has never encountered or read in context before.

As originally articulated in Aristotle's Rhetoric, ethos involves "the speaker representing his own character (as sincere, virtuous, knowledgeable, authoritative, and so on), along with convincing character sketches of other political figures and of the audience itself" (Sutherland, 2013, p. 755). A person's ethos thus becomes an integral part of the argument, serving as the catalyst for the audience to become persuaded. To convey ethos, one must accomplish it through the style and tone of the message, as well as through how the speaker or writer addresses and references differing interpretations.

Pathos (emotional) signifies persuasion through appeal to the audience's emotions. One can look at texts ranging from classic compositions to modern commercials to see how pathos — expressive appeals — is used to influence. Linguistic choice shapes the audience's emotional reaction, and expressive appeal can be used efficiently to strengthen an argument.

To convey pathos, one must appeal to the audience by persuading them to identify with the speaker or writer's point of view. The audience must then feel pain imaginatively, or sympathize with the writer or speaker. A narrative or story that transforms constructs of logic into something profound and immediate is one of the best ways to achieve an emotional appeal. The principles, beliefs, and sympathies of the writer are understood through the narrative and conveyed creatively to the reader. Connection is what is most often needed in arguing. Providing that connection — whether through a logical or emotional appeal — is necessary in order to present an effective argument. It must connect with societal beliefs and constructs. As Bar-Tal and Oren (2012) observe, "These societal beliefs contribute to the sense of uniqueness of society members as being distinct from members of other societies, while they allow a psychological connection of society members to their own society."

Logos (logical) signifies persuasion through the use of reasoning and is considered the most important technique — and Aristotle's favorite. Logos involves both inductive and deductive reasoning. In order to make an effective, persuasive argument, reason must be backed up with evidence and sound claims. Giving reasons is the foundation of argumentation and cannot be emphasized enough. Examining common logical fallacies and providing legitimate sources allows for effective persuasion through logos.

Logos (from the Greek word for "word") also denotes the internal consistency of a message — meaning the clarity of the claim, the soundness of its explanations, and the effectiveness of its supporting evidence. The influence of logos on an audience is occasionally referred to as the argument's logical appeal. As one article notes, societies are, in essence, functional through certain beliefs, identities, and actions: "Each society consists of a collective of people who have at least some feeling of belonging, share some societal beliefs, experience solidarity, coordinate some activities, and have a sense of common identity" (Bar-Tal & Oren, 2012). Appealing to an audience while keeping these aspects in mind can provide a more effective means of persuasion.