Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Definition and Examples

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are modes of persuasion used toconvince audiences. They are also referred to as the threeartistic proofs (Aristotle coined the terms), and are allrepresented by Greek words.

Ethos or the ethical appeal, means to convincean audience of the author’s credibility or character.

An author would use ethos to show to his audience that he is acredible source and is worth listening to. Ethos is the Greekword for “character.” The word “ethic” is derived from ethos.

Ethos can be developed by choosing language that is appropriatefor the audience and topic (this also means choosing the properlevel of vocabulary), making yourself sound fair or unbiased,introducing your expertise, accomplishments or pedigree, and byusing correct grammar and syntax.

During public speaking events, typically a speaker will have atleast some of his pedigree and accomplishments listed uponintroduction by a master of ceremony.

Pathos or the emotional appeal, means topersuade an audience by appealing to their emotions.

Authors use pathos to invoke sympathy from an audience; to makethe audience feel what what the author wants them to feel. A commonuse of pathos would be to draw pity from an audience. Another useof pathos would be to inspire anger from an audience, perhaps inorder to prompt action. Pathos is the Greek word for both“suffering” and “experience.” The words empathy and pathetic are derived from pathos.

Pathos can be developed by using meaningful language, emotionaltone, emotion evoking examples, stories of emotional events, andimplied meanings.

Logos or the appeal to logic, means toconvince an audience by use of logic or reason.

To use logos would be to cite facts and statistics, historicaland literal analogies, and citing certain authorities on a subject.Logos is the Greek word for “word,” however the true definitiongoes beyond that, and can be most closely described as “the word orthat by which the inward thought is expressed" and, "the inwardthought itself" (1). The word “logic” is derived from logos.

Logos can be developed by using advanced, theoretical orabstract language, citing facts (very important), using historicaland literal analogies, and by constructing logical arguments.

In order to persuade your audience, proper use of Ethos,Pathos, and Logos is necessary.

Examples of Ethos, Logos and Pathos:

Example of Ethos:

“Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. Weworked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two ofus in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees.We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a yearearlier, and I had just turned 30...

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT,another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing womanwho would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds firstcomputer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the mostsuccessful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn ofevents, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technologywe developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's currentrenaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful familytogether.”

Stanford Commencement Speech by Steve Jobs. June 12, 2005.

Example of Pathos:

"I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of greattrials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrowjail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest-- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecutionand staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been theveterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faiththat unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, goback to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, goback to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northerncities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will bechanged."

I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr. August 28th, 1963.

Example of Logos:

"However, although private final demand, output, and employmenthave indeed been growing for more than a year, the pace of thatgrowth recently appears somewhat less vigorous than we expected.Notably, since stabilizing in mid-2009, real household spending inthe United States has grown in the range of 1 to 2 percent atannual rates, a relatively modest pace. Households' caution isunderstandable. Importantly, the painfully slow recovery in thelabor market has restrained growth in labor income, raiseduncertainty about job security and prospects, and dampedconfidence. Also, although consumer credit shows some signs ofthawing, responses to our Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey onBank Lending Practices suggest that lending standards to householdsgenerally remain tight."

The Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy by Ben Bernanke. August27th, 2010.

1.What method(s) of persuasion (ethos/pathos/logos from above)does Chiara Atik's "Public Display of Transaction" use? Give anexample to support your assertions.

English 102