By: Janis Glazer
By: Janis Glazer
Logos is persuading through logical means and using reasoning and evidence. Ethos is the amount of credibility a speaker brings to the message by their personal characteristics and qualities. Pathos is the reaction the speaker hopes to envoke from the audience through their message.
The book used the example of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' Speech to illustrate the three types of proof. Equally as persuasive or effective was John F. Kennedy's famous quote.
JFK used logos, or logical proof, to try and get people to see that volunteering to help their country would reward them in the end. This quote was from a time when the United States needed support for war and peace efforts. The implied argument was that if someone were to possibly volunteer for the Army or some military service, the things they would be able to accomplish would help the entire country more than standing by and watching. It was not just for the military services, but it was a call to action for the entrie country, as well. Basically President Kennedy wanted the United States to band together and evoke more patriotism from the citizens.
Ethos, or ethical proof, came from the fact that the person who gave the speech was the President of the United States. The credibility that goes along with that name means that virtually every person in America trusts him. Present day actions may contradict that now, but in the 1960s when Kennedy was President, the general rule was that he was a moral and trustworthy man.
President Kennedy used pathos to evoke a reaction from the American public. The patriotic feelings involved in his speech were to persuade people to act on those feelings and join the military or support the United States in what they were doing at the time. It was another way of making sure people came together as a nation and supported the government actions.
In the tumultuous time of the 1960s, it was difficult to get people to respond and ignore some differences to stand united. John F. Kennedy was a passionate President who was able to persuade people effectively and was able to get them to respond to what he was saying. He used the elements of Aristotle's Rhetoric to his and the country's benefit.
Speeches can be made to be persuasive in other capacities, as well. Shane Paris talked about the relationship between parents and children that can make the child want to do something the parent tells him or her to. To read his application of the Coordinated Managment of Meaning, Click Here..