Three Ways to Persuade: Integrating the ...



ERWC Three Ways to Persuade: A Mini-ModuleReading SelectionEdlund, John R. “Three Ways to Persuade: Integrating the Three Appeals.”SourcesAristotle, On Rhetoric. trans. George Kennedy. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1991. Print.Module DescriptionThis mini-module is designed to introduce students to Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals—ethos, logos and pathos—and how they work together to persuade audiences. These concepts are used throughout ERWC, so this mini-module should come early in the 11th grade course and may be used for review in the 12th grade. The core article, “Three Ways to Persuade: Integrating the Three Appeals,” was substantially rewritten for this version of the course. The new version emphasizes the interconnection between the appeals, noting that a particular part of a text may serve more than one rhetorical purpose. The module also explores the distinction between belief and knowledge. The writing assignment asks students to consider Aristotle’s arguments in defense of rhetoric, including ethos, logos, and pathos, and take a position on the use of rhetoric while analyzing four quotations from Aristotle.Learning GoalsStudents will be ableTo define and describe the three Aristotelian appeals: ethos, logos and pathosTo identify features of the texts they read and hear that construct an impression of the writer or speaker, or cause emotional responses in the audienceTo identify claims made by the writer or speaker and analyze how they are supportedTo recognize that all discourse is inherently rhetoricalTo demonstrate these abilities in a written response.Reading RhetoricallyPreparing to ReadGetting Ready to ReadActivity 1: QuickwriteThe purpose of this quickwrite is to help students see that we are all natural rhetoricians. We use these strategies without knowing that we do. However, being aware of these strategies can help us be more aware of the techniques that others use to persuade us and to be more effective in our own efforts to persuade.To the student: Think of something you tried to persuade a parent, teacher, or friend to do or believe. It might have been to buy or pay for something, to change a due date or a grade, to change a rule or decision, to go somewhere, or some other issue. What kinds of arguments did you use? Did you use logic? Did you use evidence to support your request? Did you try to present your own character in a way that would make your case more believable? Did you try to engage the emotions of your audience? Write a short description of your efforts to persuade your audience in this case.Activity 2: Surveying the TextFirst, ask students to look at the three subheads in the text, which give them a little bit more information about what these concepts mean. Then ask them to read the text, briefly considering the discussion questions for each section.To the student: Skim over the article “Three Ways to Persuade: Integrating the Three Appeals” by John R. Edlund, considering the title and the subheads. What is this article about? What do the three terms “ethos,” “logos,” and “pathos” seem to mean, just from the subheads? Activity 3: Creating Learning GoalsIf students understand why they are doing the activities in the module, and have their own goals as well, they are likely to be more engaged. The questions below are designed to help them create their own goals. To the student: Now that you have read the learning goals for the module and done some prereading activities, think about the following questions:What do you want to improve about your reading ability? How do you think this module might help?What do you want to improve about your writing ability? How do you think this module might help?What else do you think you might learn from this module?Reading PurposefullyActivity 4: Reading for Understanding Students are now ready to read the full article.To the student: Now read the whole article, thinking about how to increase your understanding of ethos, pathos, and logos. If you were already familiar with these concepts, pay attention to how this discussion might be a little different from what you already thought. Three Ways to Persuade: Integrating the Three Appealsby John R. Edlund1Over 2,000 years ago the Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that there were three basic ways to persuade an audience of your position: ethos, pathos, and logos. These concepts can help you persuade others and help you understand how persuasion works in articles you read and speeches you hear. Although we are going to look at them one by one, in practice they all work together.Ethos: The Writer’s Character or Image2The Greek word ethos is related to our word ethics or ethical, but a more accurate modern translation might be “image.” Aristotle’s term ethos refers to the speaker’s character as it appears to the audience. Aristotle says that if we believe that a speaker has good sense, good moral character, and goodwill, we are inclined to believe what that speaker says. Today we might add that a speaker should also appear to have the appropriate expertise or authority to speak knowledgeably about the subject matter. Ethos is often the first thing we notice, so it creates the first impression that influences how we perceive the rest. Ethos is an important factor in advertising, both for commercial products and in politics. For example, when an actor in a pain reliever commercial puts on a doctor’s white coat, the advertisers are hoping that wearing this coat will give the actor the authority to talk persuasively about medicines. Of course, in this particular instance the actor’s ethos is a deceptive illusion, but the character, background, and authority of the speaker or writer can be legitimate factors in determining whether we find him or her credible.3A writer’s ethos is constructed largely through word choice and style. Sometimes, when we are asked to write about something that we are still learning about, we might be tempted to use a thesaurus to find some big words to impress the reader. Unfortunately, this usually backfires, because it is difficult to use a word correctly that you have not heard or read in context many times. 4Sometimes a writer or speaker will use what is called an ad hominem argument, an argument “against the man.” In this strategy, the writer attacks the character or personality of the speaker instead of attacking the substance of his or her position. This kind of argument is usually considered to be a logical fallacy, but it can be very effective and is quite common in politics. This type of argument attempts to undermine a speaker or writer’s ethos. 5A modern concept related to ethos is what rhetorician Kenneth Burke calls “identification.” If the audience feels connected to the speaker, feels that the speaker is part of a group to which they also belong, and/or feels admiration or sympathy for the speaker, they are more likely to be persuaded by the speaker’s words. Identification creates strong emotional attachments that can make an audience ignore valid opposing arguments and facts. The emotional component of identification means that ethos and pathos, the next mode of persuasion we will discuss, are working together.Questions for Consideration:Can you think of a celebrity or politician who works hard to project a particular image? What does she or he do to create this image? Have you ever tried really hard to project an image? If so, what kinds of things did you say and do to create this image? Have you ever noticed a gap between a person’s image and how they really are? Explain how you saw this gap. Do you think that it is wrong to try to create an image of yourself that might not be who you really are? Why or why not?Pathos: The Emotions of the Audience6Most of us think that we make our decisions based on rational thought. However, Aristotle points out that emotions such as anger, pity, fear, and their opposites powerfully influence our rational judgments. Due to this fact, much of our political discourse and much of the advertising we experience is directed toward moving our emotions.7Anger is a very powerful motivating force. Aristotle says that if we want to make an audience angry we need to know three things: 1) the state of mind of angry people, 2) who the people are that this audience usually gets angry at, and 3) on what grounds this audience gets angry at those people. While the actual causes of a war may be economic or political, and thus related to logos, the mobilization of a people or a nation to war inevitably consists of appeals to pathos. Leaders mobilize their followers to go to war by reminding them of their historical grievances against other groups or nations, blaming other groups for economic difficulties, and focusing on perceived insults, crimes, and atrocities committed against their own citizens by others. In the twentieth century, such appeals to pathos inspired the Holocaust in Germany, genocide in Rwanda, and ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia. Individuals were inspired through pathos to attack, rape, or kill neighbors who had lived near them all their lives, simply because of their ethnicity or religion.8Many political decisions have an emotional motivation. For example, when a gunman with an assault rifle shot up a schoolyard full of children, people were suddenly interested in banning such weapons. In this case, several emotions are involved, but perhaps the strongest one is pity for the small children and their families. The logical arguments for banning or not banning assault rifles had not changed at all, but people were emotionally engaged with the issue after this event and wanted to do something.9Of course, not all appeals to pathos result in violence or political action. Advertisements for consumer goods often aim at making us insecure about our attractiveness or social acceptability and then offer a remedy for this feeling in the form of a product. This is a common strategy for selling mouthwash, toothpaste, chewing gum, clothing, and even automobiles. Our desire to be attractive to others turns into a desire for products or other symbols of success. We may even rationalize these desires by making logical arguments about why we need these things.10Appeals to the emotions and passions are often very effective and are very common in our society. Such appeals are not always false or illegitimate. It is natural to feel strong emotions about tragedies, victories, and other powerful events as well as about one’s own image and identity. You may find it useful to consider the emotions of your audience in your own writing. Questions for Consideration:Can you think of an advertisement for a product or a political campaign that uses your emotions to persuade you to believe something? Describe it, and analyze how it works.When do you think it is unfair or deceptive to try to use emotions to persuade people?Have you ever made a decision based on your feelings that you regretted later? Did emotions ever serve you well in making a decision?When writing a message, do you ever ask yourself, “What emotions may help persuade my audience to do or believe what I want? What choices might evoke these emotions?” Logos: Logical Arguments11In our society, logic and rationality are highly valued and this type of persuasive strategy is usually privileged over appeals to the character of the speaker or to the emotions of the audience. However, formal logic and scientific reasoning are usually not appropriate for general audiences, so we must rely on a more rhetorical type of reasoning. 12For Aristotle, formal arguments are based on what he calls syllogisms. This is reasoning that takes the form:All men are mortal.Socrates is a man.Therefore, Socrates is mortal.13However, Aristotle notes that in ordinary speaking and writing we often use what he calls a rhetorical syllogism or an enthymeme. This is an argument in which some of the premises or assertions remain unstated or are simply assumed. For example, no one in ordinary life would think that Socrates could be immortal. We would simply assume that Socrates could be killed or that he would die of natural causes after a normal lifespan. As a result, we can logically say the following: Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal. Not all assumptions are as obvious as this one, however.14For example, when the bubonic plague swept through Europe and parts of Asia in the 14th century, killing as much as three quarters of the population in less than 20 years, it was not known how the disease was spread. At one point, people supposedly thought that the plague was spread by cats. If one assumes that cats spread the disease, the obvious solution to the problem is to eliminate the cats, and so people began killing cats on sight. However, we now know that the plague is spread by fleas which live on rats. Because cats kill rats, killing off the cat population led to an increase in the rat population, a corresponding increase in plague carrying fleas, and thus an increase in cases of plague in humans. Killing off the cats was a logical solution to the problem of plague, but it was based on a faulty assumption.15Aristotle favored arguments from probability. He distrusted evidence from written documents because they could be forged and testimony from witnesses because they could be coerced or bribed, so he went with what was probably true. For example, if a big strong man claimed that a small weak man had beaten him up and stolen his money, Aristotle would find that improbable. Of course, today we prefer that our arguments be supported with relevant evidence in the form of facts, statistics, professional research and other data. However, even fact-based arguments can depend on faulty assumptions. 16Persuasion, to a large extent, involves convincing people to accept our assumptions as probably true and to take appropriate action. Similarly, exposing questionable assumptions in someone else’s argument is an effective means for preparing the audience to accept your own contrary position.Questions for Consideration:Imagine some arguments that start from faulty assumptions, such as “If pigs could fly,” or “If money grew on trees.” What would be some of the logical consequences?When you write a class assignment, do you consider the values and beliefs of the teacher? Do you consider what arguments and what kinds of support will be most persuasive? Do you choose words and make stylistic choices to have the most persuasive effect on your teacher? How would you write differently for another audience, such as your best friend or a brother or sister?Go to a news site and look at the headlines of several articles. Are there any hidden assumptions in the headlines? How do the headline writers try to persuade you to click? Now click on one of the headlines and read the article quickly. Ask yourself, “How do the arguments and the support offered by the writer connect with the values and beliefs of the intended audience? What assumptions does the author take for granted the audience will accept?”17It is tempting to see ethos, pathos, and logos as separate parts of a text, but in fact they almost always work together. The same element in speech or writing can simultaneously function in all three ways. A detailed description of an assault rifle, a bird’s nest, or an abstract painting, to choose some random examples, could be part of a logical argument, but also simultaneously give an impression of the speaker and cause an emotional effect in the audience. Each appeal is a perspective, a way of looking at a text and how it does what it does. They are not pigeonholes in which to sort specific elements of the text, but concerns that all writers must deal with, and resources that writers can use to achieve their persuasive goals. Sometimes a writer will depend on one sort of appeal much more than another, such as logos in a scientific article, or ethos in a campaign speech. However, you will find elements of all three in each text you study and they are worth thinking about in every text you write. They are useful concepts that help you understand why a speech or an article affects you the way it does. Questioning the TextActivity 5: Summarizing and RespondingAfter you have read the text, discuss the following questions:What does each term mean to you? Define ethos, pathos, and logos in your own words.Should we use the Greek word, or is there an English word that means exactly the same thing?Do people use Aristotle’s concepts of ethos, logos, and pathos every day without thinking about it? Can you think of some examples?Do these concepts apply to politics and advertising as well as person-to-person persuasion? Can you think of some examples?Are there other means of persuasion that Aristotle did not discuss?Activity 6: Thinking CriticallyA group discussion of the “Questions for Consideration” in the article will help students solidify their grasp of the concepts.To the student: The article has “Questions for Consideration” after each section. Your group will be assigned a set of questions to discuss. In your group, try to come up with examples that illustrate each question and discuss your ideas. Be prepared to report on the main points of your discussion.Activity 7: Synthesizing Multiple PerspectivesThe article is called “Three Ways to Persuade: Integrating the Three Appeals.” Aristotle says that the art of rhetoric is the art of “finding the available means of persuasion.” What does it mean to persuade someone? Is it the same as “convince”? In the dialogue called Gorgias, Plato has the famous sophist (or rhetorician) Gorgias define rhetoric as “the art of persuasion in courts of law and other assemblies about the just and unjust.” Plato then has Socrates ask Gorgias, “Which sort of persuasion does rhetoric create in courts of law and other assemblies about the just and unjust, the sort of persuasion which gives belief without knowledge or that which gives knowledge?”Gorgias answers, “Clearly, Socrates, that which only gives belief.” This exchange leads to some important philosophical questions:What is the difference between “knowledge” and “belief”?One way of thinking about this is to take a current controversial event such as a murder, a scandal, a celebrity divorce, or other prominent news item and fill out a box with four quadrants labeled like this:What I knowHow I know itWhat I believeWhy I believe itIs “proving” different from “persuading”? Does proving lead to knowledge, while persuading leads to belief? How do we “prove” that something is true? Are there some notions that we believe strongly, even though we can’t prove them?What is the difference between what is certain and what is probable? If, as in a courtroom, the jury decides that something has been proved “beyond a reasonable doubt,” does that mean that it is certainly true or merely highly probable? Are we persuaded only by what is certain or sometimes by what is probable, in that it is likely to be true, or that most people would agree that it is true?In the dialogue mentioned above, Gorgias says that rhetoric is about the “just and unjust.” How would you distinguish a “just” action from an “unjust” action? (The word “just” here is related to the word “justice.”)Is it deceptive to persuade someone to believe something that might not be true? Is the use of rhetorical strategies a bad thing?Preparing to Respond: Discovering What You ThinkActivity 8: Considering Your Task and Your Rhetorical Situation (The Writing Assignment)Consider the following quotations from Aristotle in defense of rhetoric:Rhetoric is useful because the true and the just are by nature stronger than their opposites and if judgments are not made in the right way, the true and the just will be defeated by their opposites.Even if we were to have the most exact knowledge, it would not be easy for us in speaking to use it to persuade some audiences. Speech based on knowledge is teaching, but teaching is impossible with some audiences; rather it is necessary for . . . speeches as a whole to be formed on the basis of common beliefs.It would be strange if an inability to defend oneself by means of the body [such as by learning boxing] is shameful, while there is no shame in an inability to use speech.If it is argued that great harm can be done by unjustly using such power of words, this objection applies to all good things except virtue, and most of all useful things like strength, health, wealth, and military strategy; for by using these justly one would do the greatest good, and unjustly, the greatest harm. (Kennedy 34-35)We have a saying, “The facts speak for themselves.” In quotation number 1, Aristotle is saying that sometimes the facts need a little help from rhetoric. Taking this quote and the other three into account, does Aristotle make a good case that we should study and use rhetoric? Or is the use of rhetoric, especially ethos and pathos, deceptive and bad? Write a short essay in which you take a position on the use of rhetoric and analyze the four quotations from Aristotle.Activity 9: Gathering Relevant Ideas and MaterialsIn your group, discuss the four quotations from Aristotle. Paraphrase each quote in your own words (The translation from ancient Greek is quite literal, so it is a little awkward in English. You can improve it.) What is Aristotle saying about rhetoric? Then discuss whether you agree with his argument. Make notes about your discussion and what conclusions you came to.Writing RhetoricallyComposing a DraftActivity 10: Making Choices as You Write Taking your notes from your group discussion into account, write a draft of your essay about the use of rhetoric. You will have to make some choices. Think about the following questions:What is your position on whether rhetoric is good, bad, or neutral?Did you disagree with any members of your group? How will you answer their arguments? Who might read your essay besides your teacher? Do you think that you might share it with someone else to show them what you are learning about in your English class? How much will readers beyond your teacher know about ethos, pathos and logos? How much background will your readers need to understand your position?Should you have a paragraph about each quote? Or should you combine them together?What will you say in the conclusion? Do you think that rhetoric is useful for understanding advertising, politics, or other matters? After thinking a bit about these questions, write a draft of your essay.Revising RhetoricallyActivity 11: Gathering and Responding to FeedbackShare your draft with a partner. Imagine that a parent or other adult other than the teacher is going to read it. Think about the following questions:Is it clear to the reader what rhetoric is and what position the writer is taking on it? How could the writer improve it?Are Aristotle’s arguments in defense of rhetoric presented clearly and fairly? How could the writer improve?Do the writer’s arguments effectively support his or her position? What suggestions do you have?EditingActivity 12: Preparing Your Draft for SubmissionTaking the comments your partner made into account, make any changes you think are necessary in your draft and submit it to your teacher.Activity 13: Reflecting on Your Writing ProcessHow important was thinking about your audience in writing this short essay? Did it help you think of things to say and how to say them?Activity 14: Reflecting on Learning GoalsWhat did you learn from working on this module? Do you think these ideas will help you in the future? ................
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