WEEK 4: ETHOS, PATHOS, LOGOS

Ethos=appeal to ethics

Pathos=appeal to emotion

Logos=appeal to logic

Appeals to ethos are typified by advice from experts on the topic. A doctor telling you what medication is the best course of action is an example of ethos.

Appeals to pathos generally make use of emotions and try to manipulate through this. For example, a politician saying, "I’m not just invested in this community – I love every building, every business, every hard-working member of this town" is appealing to the people of the city by saying he loves them.

Logos appeals make use of statistics and reason frequently. If someone is trying to appeal to logos, they will quote a statistic from a respected, knowledgeable source. For example, someone quoting data from NASA has a better chance of persuading their audience that what they are saying is factual and correct.

In the tutorial we used the example of the image of a Syrian child in the back of an ambulance (inserted)

that circulated on facebook recently. The image was accompanied by a paragraph talking about the situations the Syrian people are living in and why we should let them into Australia. The image was used, along with much of the statement, to appeal to pathos, and make people feel sorry for this child.

Framing images was another topic our group talked about. Framing allows an image to appeal to certain emotions, and work in the author’s favour. An image of a bear in the wild, for example, could frame it as a vicious, scary animal, whereas a picture of a bear locked in a zoo would frame it as defenseless and vulnerable – whichever fits the author’s contention would be the image used.

Appeals to logos can also work in sports advertising; if an athlete that is considered one of the best in their sport is endorsing a product, it can make people think that the product will help them be great also. For example, Jordan brand sells basketball shoes, so they enlist superstars such as Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin to wear Jordan shoes and help sell them.

If an argument can use all three of ethos, pathos and logos, it is much more likely to persuade its audience.