PERSUASIVE APPEALS:Logos, Pathos, Ethos

2RHETORICAL STRATEGIES

• DESCRIPTION

• NARRATION (anecdotes)

• ILLUSTRATION (examples)

• PROCESS-ANALYSIS

• DIVISION and CLASSIFICATION (roles, types)

• COMPARISON and CONTRAST (similarities, differ.)

• DEFINITION

• REFUTATION

• PARADOX

• CAUSE and EFFECT

• ANALOGY

bag o’ tricks

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TYPES of EVIDENCE• FACTS• STATISTICS• FIGURES, NUMBERS, DATES• EXAMPLES• REASONS• DETAILS• ANECDOTES• EYE-WITNESS TESTIMONY (first-hand, primary)• EXPERT TESTIMONY

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HOW TO EVALUATE EVIDENCE

• TIMELINESS (relevance)• INTENT (to entertain, to persuade)• CREDIBILITY (sincerity, agendas)• CONTEXT (circumstance, situation)

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HOW TO EVALUATE EVIDENCE

• LOGICAL:o reasons, examples, details, facts, stats, figures

• EMOTIONAL:o examples, anecdotes, eye-witness testimony

• CREDIBLE:o details, facts, stats, figures, expert testimony

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THE

Rhetorical TRIANGLE

PATHOS

LOGOS

ETHOS

7• Not to be confused with Alexandre Dumas’ Three Musketeers:o Athoso Porthoso Aramiso (and d'Artagnan )

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BACKGROUND: ARISTOTLE and the RHETORICAL TRIANGLE

• In Rhetoric (350 BC), the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) suggests that the fundamental human characteristics include:o logic, reasoningo emotion, empathy, compassiono credibility, trust (perception of character)

• Thus, he divided the persuasive appeals of rhetoric into 3 parts:o Logos, o Pathos, o Ethos

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LOGOS• “logic”

• SUPPORT, PROOF, “GROUNDS”:o logic, o reasons, o examples, o details, o facts o “Just the facts, ma’am.” (Dragnet)o appeals to the Vulcan inside us (Star Trek)

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EVALUATING LOGOS• PURPOSE= to stir readers’ thoughts, to offer readers

different perspectives, for readers to see something in a new way

• THESIS= reasonable

• EVIDENCE= accurate; clear, convincing; relevant, appropriate

• REASONS= make sense, no fallacies

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LOGOS EXAMPLESSHAKESPEARE’S SONNET #18:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer's lease hath all too short a date:Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimmed,And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade,Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

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LOGOS EXAMPLESSONNET 18:• LOGICAL CONSTRUCTION:o ordered structure

3 quatrains + 1 couplet evidence to support the point + concise statement

of the point• RHYME SCHEME (ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG)• REGULAR RHYTHMo 14 lines of rhymed iambic pentameter

• LOGIC, REASONSo COMPARISONS and CONTRASTS

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Other Examples of Logos in Shakespeare

• Macbeth on regicide• Hamlet on anything (esp. suicide)• Brutus on Conspiracy• Jacques on the world stage• Jacques on the 7 ages of man• Ulysses on degree

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LOGOS in everyday life• to win an argument on any subject: o receipts, ticket stubso photos, videoo text or phone or e-mail messageso witnesses, quotes o examples, instances, incidents, anecdoteso weather, financial, medical, legal reports

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LOGOS in everyday lifeFRIENDS:• to win an argument on sports (e.g.):o use reasons supported by statistics, highlights

(examples), details, facts, spectator (witness)

SCHOOL:• to argue a grade:o refer (rationally) to the syllabus, assignment sheet,

textbook, test question, lecture notes, handouts

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LOGOS in everyday lifePARENTS:• to argue for a raise in allowance• to argue to borrow the car• to argue to extend curfewo refer to “record” (stats) or make a bargain

CAR:• to buy a car, to repair/keep vs. trade/sell/junko use a debit sheet, refer to an advertisemento Kelley Blue Book, NADA, Edmunds.com, Lemon Law

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LOGOS in everyday lifeWORK (with your boss):• to argue for a raise, day off• employment file, service, dedication, time card, schedule

WORK (with a customer):• refer to circular, advertisement, sign, computer, register

WORK (as a customer):• with the cashier, customer service representative• refer to circular, advertisement, sign, register receipt

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LOGOS in everyday life• Card Stackingo present only one side of the issueo failure in Iraq

• Erroneous, faulty datao WMDo mistaken witnesso false credentialso assumption, inference, implication (not fact)

• Faulty reasoning o poor induction or deduction

BAD LOGOS

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PATHOS• “sympathy,” “empathy,” “pathetic”• appeal to emotions (*fear, pity, guilt)• human emotions= affection, anger, contempt, delight,

despair, disgust, embarrassment, envy, excitement, fear, guilt, hope, horror, humiliation, humor, jealousy, joy, love, royalty, passion, pity, pride, remorse, ridicule, sadness, shame, shock, shyness, sorrow, vengeance

• *often stronger than LOGOS

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EVALUATING PATHOS• LEGITIMATE & APPROPRIATE o NOT forced, o NOT faked, o NOT manipulative

• With RESTRAINT o NOT exaggerated, o NOT overdone with wild hysterics

• With a SENSE of AUDIENCE

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EVALUATING PATHOSDANGERS:• manipulative: o can lead readers from their better judgmento mob mentality

• often uses loaded languageo emotionally charged words or phraseso words with strong connotations

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PATHOS EXAMPLESShakespeare’s Sonnet #29:

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyesI all alone beweep my outcast state,And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,And look upon myself, and curse my fate,Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,With what I most enjoy contented least;Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising,Haply I think on thee, and then my state,Like to the lark at break of day arisingFrom sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;For thy sweet love remembered such wealth bringsThat then I scorn to change my state with kings.

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Other Examples of Pathos in Shakespeare

• Macbeth’s “Tomorrow” (self-pity)• Lear on ingratitude (self-pity)• Lear with “Mad Tom”• Lear with dead Cordelia • Ophelia’s madness, Gertrude at Ophelia’s, Horatio at

Hamlet’s death• Mark Antony with Julius Caesar’s wounds

(manipulative)• Timon’s or Coriolanus’ vitriol• Romeo and Juliet’s death

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PATHOS in everyday lifeFRIENDS:• peer pressure• teasing

SCHOOL:• to argue a grade, to submit a late assignmento appeal to your bad day, death in the familyo the evil computer (“the computer ate my homework”)o your race or gender, the teacher’s race or gender

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PATHOS in everyday lifePARENTS:• guilt-trips by/to your mothero previous events or relationshipso other siblings o playing one parent against the other

RELATIONSHIPS:• guilt-trips by/to your significant othero previous events or relationshipso other boy/girlfriends

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PATHOS in everyday lifeCAR:• to buy or keepo attraction, sentimentality, frustration

• to try to get out of a speeding ticketo appeal to your bad day, death in the family, race or

gender, to the officer’s race or gendero flirt, act dumb or innocent

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PATHOS in everyday lifeWORK:• to argue with your boss (raise, promotion, break)o use your family, dedication, years of service, long shift

• as a customer:o to argue a price, repair work, warranty coverageo use your years of customer loyalty, justifiable anger

or indignationo threaten to take your business elsewhere, to write or

call the supervisor, to take your issue up the “food chain”

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PATHOS in everyday life• Sentimentality: save the children commercials• Hatred: mobs, gangs, voters, anti-? demonstrations• Patriotism: rallies, parades, 9/11, commercials,

commercialization (not just USA patriotism)• Love: Valentine’s Day, ad/commercials, Web sites• Sex: ad/commercials (cars, TAG), Web sites• Humor: stand-ups, late-night shows, cartoons (hit&run)• Religiosity: guilt-trips, hell fire & brimstone, hypocrisy,

extremists, fundamentalists, cults

BAD PATHOS

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ETHOS• “ethics”• writer’s credibility, character• characteristics of an ethical person: benevolence,

courage, credibility, decency, dedication, dignity, enthusiasm, good will, honesty, honor, idealism, intelligence, morality, nobility, patriotism, resolve, respect, responsibility, seriousness, sincerity, trustworthiness, valor, wisdom

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EVALUATING ETHOSIs the writer… ? • fair-minded, • trustworthy, • believable, • sincere, • honest, • well-prepared

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EVALUATING ETHOSAN ETHICAL WRITER ...• presents both sides of the issue AND• is fair to both sides (Rogerian Method)• shows different points of view• appears well-versed on subject (accuracy)• gives biography (job, education, credentials)• uses data that’s well-researched (*authority) • has displays of intellect/knowledge• exhibits a sense of right & wrong• is not manipulative (*with PATHOS) • uses the voice of a concerned citizen addressing a serious societal issue• perhaps is challenging givens/bullies• demonstrates good will & good intentions• appears dedicated to the truth

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ETHOSTONE: (toward the subject and the audience)• concerned, • caring, compassionate • interested• genuine, frank, earnest, honest

• NOT sarcastic, • NOT self-aggrandizing, self-righteous• NOT condescending, • NOT arrogant, • NOT insincere

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ETHOSDANGER: • exploited to serve unethical ends: • pretending to be moral, • irresponsible/immoral persons presenting themselves as

responsible/moral

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ETHOS EXAMPLESSHAKESPEARE’S SONNET #130:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;Coral is far more red, than her lips red:If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.I have seen roses damasked, red and white,But no such roses see I in her cheeks;And in some perfumes is there more delightThan in the breath that from my mistress reeks.I love to hear her speak, yet well I knowThat music hath a far more pleasing sound:I grant I never saw a goddess go, My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,As any she belied with false compare.

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ETHOS EXAMPLESSONNET #130:• Same LOGOS as #18 (14 lines of rhymed iambic

pentameter, 3 quatrains + couplet, contrasts)• BUT…• What is the Speaker’s tone?o Down-to-earth honesty, wit (anti-Petrarchan) o Mean-spirited sarcasmo “dun,” “black wires,” “reek”o “rare” = 1) precious, special, 2) unusual, freakish

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ETHOS EXAMPLESPOLONIUS to LAERTES:

Yet here, Laertes? Aboard, aboard, for shame! The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail And you are stayed for. There, my blessing with thee. And these few precepts in thy memory Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,Nor any unproportioned thought his act. Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar. Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel, But do not dull thy palm with entertainmentOf each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Bear 't that th' opposèd may beware of thee. 

Give every man thy ear but few thy voice. Take each man's censure but reserve thy judgment.Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not expressed in fancy—rich, not gaudy, For the apparel oft proclaims the man, And they in France of the best rank and station Are of a most select and generous chief in that.Neither a borrower nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day,Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell. My blessing season this in thee.

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ETHOS EXAMPLES• Polonius’ LOGOS:o practical informationo aphorisms, maxims, clichés

• Polonius’ ETHOS:o rambling, meddling old mano fathering at last minute (and the ship’s waiting!)o not practical, but selfish, self-servingo opposite of Jesus: Beatitudes & faith, hope, love/charityo making Laertes into a “mini-Polonius”

• Polonius’ TONE?o loving, tough love, thoughtfulo rambling, babbling, long-windedo crude, manipulative, sinister, worldly

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ETHOS EXAMPLES• CLAUDIUS at PRAYER:

“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. / Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” (3.3.98-99)

• insincerity, artificiality, dishonesty, duplicity, hypocrisy• heart vs. words

BAD ETHOS = “words without thoughts”

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Other Examples of Ethos in Shakespeare

• Claudius on death• Claudius at prayer• Lady Macbeth attacking her husband’s manliness to

convince him to murder Duncan• Decius’ re-interpretation of Julius Caesar’s dream to get

him to go to the capital• Mark Antony’s eulogy of Julius Caesar to sway the mob

against the Conspirators

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ETHOS in everyday lifeFRIENDS:• your best interest, no ulterior motives• advice from personal experiences

POLITICS:• political, religious, sports scandals (who do you believe)• voting for a politician (record, accountability)

SCHOOL:• request for help or argue a gradeo factors: attendance, participation, preparedness, tone

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ETHOS in everyday lifePARENTS:• advice from experience• fair, consistent rulings (parents)• honesty, reliability, responsibility, accountability (you)

RELATIONSHIPS:• trust• honesty, best interests, morals, values, sincerity• responsibility, accountability

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ETHOS in everyday lifeCAR:• reliable dealer, quality service, good reputation• responsibility, accountability, dependability

WORK:• attempt to be fair-minded, understanding, calm, rational• you, your boss, the customer

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ETHOS in everyday life• false charm: o proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothingo politician, serial killer, ex-boy/girlfriend

• hypocrites: o who say one thing but do another

• arguing a grade:o disrespectful tone, poor record

• relationships:o poor record, caught in a lie (lipstick, cig. smell), faulty

reasoning, limited sense of right & wrong, bullying

BAD ETHOS

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THE

PERSUASIVE APPEALS

in everyday life:

A CASE STUDY

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BASEBALL & STEROIDSThe STEROID Era

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MITCHELL REPORT

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DRAMATIS PERSONAEKirk Radomski Barry Bonds Brian McNamee

Sammy Sosa, Jason Giambi, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Miguel Tejada

Sen. George Mitchell, union leader Donald Fehr, commissioner Bud Selig

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HE SAID-HE SAID

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CREDIBILITY?MITCHELL REPORT: • George Mitchell, former Senate Majority leader, Maine Democrat (retired 1995)• 20-month investigation & report has no legal standing• relied on McNamee and Radomski (limited contact)• only 2 active players involved (Giambi, Frank Thomas)

o only 5 approached to be interviewed• only 68 of 500 former players interviewed• remainder of the 700 = current or former club officials, managers, coaches, team physicians,

athletic trainers, or resident security agents • failure to release most of the evidence from his probe on doping in baseball

o (50+ documents referenced in footnotes )• Conflict of interest:

o Mitchell is on the board of directors for the Boston Red Sox; no BRS prime player was named, but prime NY Yankees players were

o leaked information prior to Game 7 of ALCS (Indians-Sox) @ Paul Byrd’s (Indians pitcher) alleged steroids use

o chairman of the board of the Walt Disney Co., parent of ESPN, which has an eight-year, $2.4 billion contract to televise MLB games & is currently producing a reality show with Barry Bonds

o Mitchell was hired by the Commissioner’s Office and then suggests in the report that the CO have more testing power, rather than outside, independent testing

o players were named, but not team officials (who knew @ steroid use, traded players when they quit)

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CREDIBILITY?RADOMSKI:• a former New York Mets clubhouse attendant (11 yrs.)• became the chief supplier of drugs for baseball players after the 2003 federal

shut-down of BALCO • after a December 2005 federal raid on his NY home (operation base)• pleaded guilty last year (April 2007 ) in SF to money laundering & to the illegal

distribution of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, Clenbuterol, amphetamines, & other drugs to McNamee and current & former MLB players

• cooperated (17+ months) with the federal authorities and Mitchell’s investigators in exchange for leniency (plea deal)o 17+ months of cooperationo “undercover” distribution of steroids (wire)o his own distribution of steroidso his witnessing of steroid usage among Mets players o knowledge of steroids in generalo Sentence: five years' probation & an $18,575 fine

• faced up to 25 years in prison & $500,000 in fine

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CREDIBILITY?McNAMEE: • a prior sexual assault allegation against him• prior public denials about giving steroids to ballplayers• cooperated with federal authorities & Mitchell as part of

a plea agreement on steroids-dealing charges • “drug dealer”• kept “blackmail” evidence• brought in Clemens’ wife • RC was not at the 1998 J. Canseco party in Miami

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CREDIBILITY?CLEMENS:• Andy Pettitte’s recollection of a 1999 conversation w/RC

• Clemens’ wife Debbie used HGH, from McNamee, in 2003

• McNamee was right @ Pettitte and Knoblauch

• Mitchell Office’s notification to MLBPU in July

• only B-12 and Lidocaine injections from McNamee

o Clemens had a "palpable mass" on his buttocks that was, according to Toronto Blue Jays' doctors & trainers, unlike anything they had ever seen caused by such injections

• Why would McNamee lie @ Clemens but not @ AP, CK?

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CREDIBILITY?CONGRESS: • divided on party lineso Republicans = supported Clemenso Democrats = supported McNameeo Why? Clemens is from Texas and is a friend of the

Bush family.• off-topic: supposed to be on the credibility of the

Mitchell Report and not on individual culpability• race: Barry Bonds = black, Roger Clemens = white; in

order not to appear to have shown any bias, Congress wants to pursue Clemens with the same zeal it did Bonds

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CREDIBILITY?MAJORITY (Democrats)

• Henry Waxman, Chairman, California• Ed Towns, New York• Paul E. Kanjorski, Pennsylvania• Carolyn B. Maloney, New York• Elijah Cummings, Maryland• Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio • Danny K. Davis, Illinois• John F. Tierney, Massachusetts• William Clay, Missouri• Diane Watson, California• Stephen Lynch, Massachusetts• Brian Higgins, New York• John Yarmuth, Kentucky• Bruce Braley, Iowa• Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of Columbia• Betty McCollum, Minnesota• Jim Cooper, Tennessee• Chris Van Hollen, Maryland• Paul Hodes, New Hampshire• Chris Murphy, Connecticut• John Sarbanes, Maryland• Peter Welch, Vermont

MINORITY (Republicans)• Tom Davis, Ranking Member, Virginia• Dan Burton, Indiana• Christopher Shays, Connecticut• John M. McHugh, New York• John Mica, Florida• Mark Souder, Indiana• Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania• Chris Cannon, Utah• John James Duncan, Jr., Tennessee• Michael R. Turner, Ohio• Darrell Issa, California• Kenny Marchant, Texas• Lynn Westmoreland, Georgia• Patrick McHenry, North Carolina• Virginia Foxx, North Carolina• Brian Bilbray, California• Bill Sali, Idaho• Jim Jordan, Ohio

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CREDIBILITY?Committee Jurisdiction• Legislative Responsibilities

The legislative jurisdiction of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform includes the following areas, as set forth in House Rule X, clause 1:

• Federal civil service, including intergovernmental personnel; and the status of officers and employees of the United States, including their compensation, classification, and retirement;

• Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia in general (other than appropriations);• Federal paperwork reduction;• Government management and accounting measures generally;• Holidays and celebrations;• Overall economy, efficiency, and management of government operations and activities,

including federal procurement;• National archives;• Population and demography generally, including the Census;• Postal service generally, including transportation of the mails;• Public information and records;• Relationship of the federal government to the states and municipalities generally; and• Reorganizations in the executive branch of the government.

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CREDIBILITY?Oversight Responsibilities

• The oversight responsibilities of the Committee are set forth in House Rule X, clauses 2, 3, and 4. • House Rule X, clause 2(b), provides that the Committee shall review and study on a continuing basis—• (A) the application, administration, execution, and effectiveness of laws and programs addressing subjects within

its jurisdiction;• (B) the organization and operation of Federal agencies and entities having responsibilities for the administration

and execution of laws and programs addressing subjects within its jurisdiction;• (C) any conditions or circumstances that may indicate the necessity or desirability of enacting new or additional

legislation addressing subjects within its jurisdiction (whether or not a bill or resolution has been introduced with respect thereto); and

• (D) future research and forecasting on subjects within its jurisdiction.• House Rule X, clause 3(i), provides that the Committee shall “review and study on a continuing basis the

operation of Government activities at all levels with a view to determining their economy and efficiency.”• House Rule X, clause 4(c)(1), provides that the Committee shall:• (A) receive and examine reports of the Comptroller General of the United States and submit to the House such

recommendations as it considers necessary or desirable in connection with the subject matter of the reports;• (B) evaluate the effects of laws enacted to reorganize the legislative and executive branches of the Government;

and• (C) study intergovernmental relationships between the States and municipalities and between the United States

and international organizations of which the United States is a member.• And House Rule X, clause 4(c)(2), provides that the Committee “may at any time conduct investigations of any

matter without regard to clause 1, 2, 3, or this clause [of House Rule X] conferring jurisdiction over the matter to another standing committee.”

• <http://oversight.house.gov/rules/>

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RECORD BOOK