Invention Basically brainstorming Consider all angles and of argument and counter argument to determine which approach is the best for your intended audience Even in Aristotle’s Rhetoric he discusses how to approach a young audience differently than an old audience

Invention Aristotle thought there were basically three ways in: Ethos Pathos Logos

Ethos Appeals from character Basically establishes why you’re an authority worth listening to from the start Ethos works best by establishing trust “My interests are your interests” For logos and pathos to work ethos must be firmly in place

Ethos Let’s take a look at how Troy McClure attempts to establish ethosTroy McClure Would you be likely to take Mr. McClure seriously after these attempts? Why or why not?

Logos Logos = Logic? Well…Not exactly Pure logic is more the territory of philosophy whereas rhetoric deals in what we might call “fuzzy logic” Consider this example: “High taxes hurt jobs.” What do you think about the “logic of this statement?

Logos Syllogism : Philosophy :: Enthymeme : Rhetoric Syllogism: Socrates is a man. All men are mortal. Socrates is mortal. You don’t get logic much more solid than that!

Logos Enthymeme examples: “With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good” “Does this place look like I’m married? The toilet seat’s up man!” from The Big Lebowski “Mark’d ye his words? He did not take the crown. Therefore ‘tis certain he was not ambitious” from Julius Caesar

Logos If logos in terms of rhetoric isn’t pure logic, we might say instead that logos is SOUNDING reasonable Analogy is one popular tool that’s used in logos: “Leaving Hussein in power would be like ignoring Hitler.” While this isn’t necessarily the soundest logic, it sure SOUNDS convincing doesn’t it

Logos In the American court system certainty is not required, but instead “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” That makes it a perfect home for rhetoric and enthymemes

Logos A man is on trial for murdering his wife and the evidence is STACKED against him His lawyer acknowledges this, but says that the man is no murderer; in fact his wife will walk through the courtroom door at noon. Everyone waits patiently and at noon all eyes are on the door His wife never shows up

Logos The lawyer argues that the fact that the jury was watching the door shows that they believe the possibility of the wife being alive and therefore cannot convict the defendant The judge however notices that the only person NOT looking at the door and therefore he must be guilty Two arguments based on enthymemes, but neither constitute definite philosophical proof.

Logos Aristotle argues that logos should be based off of culturally accepted commonplaces A commonplace is basically common sense or what a culture considers virtuous, but these can vary from culture to culture and era to era At one time a flat earth was a commonplace

Logos A few typical western commonplaces -Prevention is better than the cure -Hard work deserves reward -No means no -You are innocent until proven guilty -All men are created equal However, in some cultures it’s a commonplace to say that the opinions of women or minorities are irrelevant

Pathos An appeal to emotion Often associated with sadness or pity (think of those adopt a pet or save a child commercials) But Pathos can refer to any emotion: happiness, anger, fear, etc. It’s easy to think of Pathos as “cheating” because it caters to the heart rather than the mind…

Pathos But…is love any less valid than knowledge? Emotions are at least as important to us as knowledge is “By the time you throw this flyer in the recycling bin 30 children will have died” “This is Sarah. She may not live to be two.” Military ads that focus on triumph Drug ads that show happy people cavorting through fields of daisies

SOAPStone Of course, effective ethos, pathos and logos varies depending on a number of factors Ex: What a 90 year old woman finds emotionally persuasive, isn’t likely to be the same thing a child finds emotionally persuasive

SOAPStone Subject Occasion Audience Purpose Speaker Tone

Review Ethos: “Buy my car because I’m Tom Magliozzi.” Logos: “Buy my old car because yours is broken and mine is the only one for sale.” Pathos: “Buy my old car or this cute little kitten, afflicted with a rare degenerative disease, will expire in agony, for my car is the last asset I have in the world, and I am selling it to pay for kitty’s medical treatment.”

Your turn Let’s find examples of ethos, logos, and pathos on our ipads!