The Rhetorical Appeals

The principles that Aristotle laid out in his treatise on Rhetoric nearly 2,500 years ago still form the foundation of much of our contemporary practice of argument. Aristotle argued that rhetoric was present in any piece of communication, and that belief has permeated much of the thought about how we communicate since then.

Aristotle also described three different rhetorical strategies or appeals that a speaker or writer can use to make an argument effective. The three rhetorical appeals are ethos, pathos, and logos. These three appeals are guided by kairos, which is about timing. The three appeals may be used alone, but arguments are most effective when they combine appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos, with strong grounding in kairos or timeliness.

The Rhetorical Appeals

Ethos: Appeal to Values/Trust

A Greek word for “character,” ethos is an appeal to character, especially authority and expertise. That is, we often believe an argument because the argument is made by someone we respect. Ethos is often mistaken as an appeal to ethics. Though ethics are an aspect of a person’s or organization’s ethos, ethics are not the only component of character, authority, or expertise.

Ethical appeals have two primary elements:

1. audience values
2. authorial credibility

On the one hand, when an author makes an ethical appeal, he or she is attempting to tap into the values or ideologies that the audience holds, for example, patriotism, tradition, justice, equality, dignity for all humankind, self preservation, or other specific social, religious or philosophical values.

These values can sometimes feel very close to emotions, but they are felt on a social level rather than only on a personal level. When an author evokes the values that the audience cares about as a way to justify or support his or her argument, we classify that as ethos. This first part of the definition of ethos, then, is focused on the audience’s values.

Credibility of the speaker/author is determined by his or her knowledge and expertise in the subject at hand. Some authors do not have to establish their credibility because the audience already knows who they are and that they are credible, but many of us need to carefully consider how to come off as credible to audiences in our writing.

Thus, ethos comes down to trust. How can the author get the audience to trust him or her so that they will accept his or her argument? How can the the author make him or herself appear as a credible speaker who embodies the character traits that the audience values?

Logos: Appeal to Logic

Logic. Reason. Rationality. Logos is brainy and intellectual, cool, calm, collected, and objective.

Logical appeals rest on rational modes of thinking:

• Comparison – a comparison between one thing (with regard to your topic) and another, similar thing to help support your claim (but it is important that the comparison is fair and valid – the things being compared must share significant traits of similarity).
• Cause/effect thinking – you argue that X has caused Y, or that X is likely to cause Y to help support your claim (but be careful with the latter – it can be difficult to predict that something “will” happen in the future).
• Deductive reasoning – starting with a broad, general claim/example and using it to support a more specific point or claim.
• Inductive reasoning – using several specific examples or cases to make a broad generalization.
• Exemplification – use of many examples or a variety of evidence to support a single point.
• Elaboration – moving beyond just including a fact, but explaining the significance or relevance of that fact.
• Coherent thought – maintaining a well-organized line of reasoning; not repeating ideas or jumping around.

Logos is about the clarity, consistency, and soundness of an argument, from the premise and structure to the evidence and support. A writer appeals to logos by making reasonable claims and supporting those claims with evidence, such as statistics, other data, and facts.

Pathos: Appeal to Emotions

Aristotle argued that emotions are central to our decision making, even if we are not consciously aware of it. Originally, pathos described appeals to an audience’s sensibilities. Modern uses of pathos generally means an appeal to emotions, both positive and negative. That is, we often believe an argument because it makes us feel good (happy, proud, excited) or because it makes us feel poorly (scared, suspicious, angry).

When someone relies on pathos, it means that he or she is trying to tap into the audience’s emotions to get them to agree with a claim. A writer may appeal to emotions that an audience already has about a subject, or a rhetor may try to make the audience feel those emotions. Emotions can make us vulnerable, and an author can use this vulnerability to get the audience to believe that his or her argument is a compelling one.

Pathos appeals might include:

• Expressive descriptions of people, places, or events that help the reader to feel or experience those event.
• Vivid imagery of people, places, or events help the reader to feel like they are witnessing those events.
• Sharing personal stories that make the reader feel a connection to, or empathy for, the person being described.
• Using emotion-laden vocabulary as a way to put the reader into that specific emotional mindset.
• Using any other kinds of information that will evoke an emotional response from the audience.

Keep in mind that appeals to pathos can sometimes be overwhelming and dominate an argument because emotions in general can be overwhelming. When emotions are strong enough, they can overtake logic and reason. That makes pathos sometimes misleading and dangerous, since it can use emotions to distract us from facts. With pathos, a little can go a long way.

Kairos: Appeal to Context

Kairos is the Greek word for time. In Greek mythology, Kairos (the youngest son of Zeus) was the god of opportunities. In rhetoric, kairos refers to the opportune moment, or appropriateness, for persuading a particular audience about a particular subject. Kairos depends on a strong awareness of a rhetorical situation’s context. Kairos is the where, why, and when of persuasion.

In other words, what we write and how we write it greatly depend on when we write and where an audience will read our writing. Kairos, in many ways, is what determines how we should consider using ethos, logos, and pathos in our writing.