Aside from the widespread discussion concerning animal rights on this blog (which quite frankly, I could not write about, because similar to Duyen, I am struggling to decide on which position to take), we have also read an article by John Edlund discussing the "three basic ways to persuade an audience of your position:" ethos, logos, and pathos.
To quickly summarize these strategies: ethos is the writer's character or image, logos refers to logical arguments, and pathos appeals to the emotions of the audience. Ethos, according to Edlund, is the "speaker's character as it appears to the audience" as well as their "authority to speak knowledgeably about the subject matter." Logos relies on logic and rationality and "is usually privileged over appeals to the character of the speaker or to the emotions of the audience." Pathos is the powerful influence of our emotions to our rational judgment.
In order to make a convincing case for your situation, it is best to use all three strategies together in one. Personally, however, I seem to notice that I rely mostly on the appeal of logic and rationality in my arguments. I feel as though I have been trained to provide as much information as I can in the form of facts, quotes, and similar information in order to persuade my audience. I am not saying this is the most effective way, I just find it the easiest and most useful way to persuade, especially in writing prompts. Do any of you agree with the idea that logos is the most common way to persuade? If not, which one do you find the most common?
I agree that logos is the most common way to persuade. I know I use logos to persuade frequently without even noticing. You described pathos, logos, and ethos perfectly. At first when I was reading over the article I was overthinking each way to persuade, but I came to the realization it is common sense. After realizing they are simple ideas it became much easier to identify which is which. :)
ReplyDeleteI also agree that logos is the most common way to persuade a person, but I think pathos can make it easy to persuade as well. I do rely on logic and most importantly people’s feelings when it comes to writing because it is easier for me to create a flow with those two ideas, and I feel like with trying to direct to a reader’s feelings it will lead to a “change of heart” about the topic. I believe that sometimes a person may think logically, but their emotions get in the way when it comes to decisions, which probably why people have trouble choosing sides sometimes. I don’t really find my self-using ethos very often, but hopefully I will be able to use all three, ethos, pathos, and logos, in my writing.
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