What is ethos

Pathos Examples of pathos can be seen in language that draws out feelings such as pity or anger in an audience: "If we don't move soon, we're all going to die! Can't you see how dangerous it would be to stay? Our advanced security systems will protect the well-being of your family so that you can sleep soundly at night. Ever since our forefathers landed at Plymouth Rock, we've celebrated Thanksgiving without fail, making more than cherished recipes.

We've made memories. Make no mistake, they're the enemy, and they won't stop until we're all destroyed. I heard that that street is far more dangerous and ominous at night than during the daytime. Now is our turn to return the favor. This company, unlike others in the industry, value full-time employees outside of engineers. It is an attempt to set this company on an ethical high ground above its peers. Ethos, pathos, and logos are the three Aristotelian appeals.

Ethos is an appeal to ethics, pathos is an appeal to emotions, and logos is an appeal to logic. Each of these is used in an argument in order to convince an audience.

The argument may be heavier in one appeal over another; however, a good argument will contain some of all three appeals.

Continuing the education reform argument from above, here are additional examples for demonstration:. Send us feedback. See more words from the same year. Accessed 12 Nov. Nglish: Translation of ethos for Spanish Speakers. Britannica English: Translation of ethos for Arabic Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Essential Meaning of ethos. They are working to keep a democratic ethos alive in the community. Ethos, when everything is stripped away, is about trust.

Your audience needs to know or to believe, which in rhetoric adds up to the same thing that you are trustworthy, that you have a locus standi to talk on the subject, and that you speak in good faith. Between two speakers with identical credentials, the more closely relatable one will win the audience. If ethos is the ground on which your argument stands, logos is what drives it forward: it is the stuff of your arguments, the way one point proceeds to another, as if to show that the conclusion to which you are aiming is not only the right one, but so necessary and reasonable as to be more or less the only one.

Think of this as the logic behind your argument. Aristotle had a tip here: He found that the most effective use of logos is to encourage your audience to reach the conclusion to your argument on their own, just moments before your big reveal. They will relish in the fact that they were clever enough to figure it out, and the reveal will be that much more satisfying.

The syllogism is a way of combining two premises and drawing a fresh conclusion that follows logically from them. The classic instance you always hear quoted is the following: All men are mortal.

Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.