E. Wanczuk AP English Language and Composition

 There are three types of arguments, or proofs, that are convincing in rhetoric: ◦ The arguments found in the issue itself (logos) ◦ The argments found based on the rhetor’s character and reputation (ethos) ◦ The arguments that appeal to the emotions (pathos)

 Logos = reason, logic  Logical proof  Appeals to audience’s sense of reason  Syllogism is the main arrangement for logical proof in classical rhetoric  Other types of logos: facts, statistics, analogies, examples, maxims, testimony

 Scientific demonstration  Dialectic  Rhetoric  False/contentious reasoning  Each reasoning began with a premise: statement made, supposed, or assumed before the argument begins; premises are combined with other premises until the conclusion.  See syllogisms

 Argument begins from the premises that are true, or that experts agree are true.  Premises must be believable without further argument to support them, e.g.: ◦ Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit ◦ The moon orbits the Earth

 Less certain about the truth of the premises.  Premises accepted by those considered wise. ◦ Socrates: “An unexamined life is not worth living.” ◦ Jesus: Love one another as I have loved you.

 Premises drawn from beliefs accepted by all or most in the community.  Involve human action or belief: “hate speech is a harmful practice”; rhetorical argument  Some rhetorical premises are commonplaces: widely accepted by relevant community ◦ “convicted criminals should be punished” ◦ Take commonplaces for granted, and accept arguments that follow them as forceful ◦ Because they are taken for granted, they are commonplaces in the culture’s ideology, and that makes the premises ideologic (a type of rhetorical reasoning).

 Premises only appear to have wide acceptance—or they are mistakes or lies

 The difference in scientific, dialectic, or rhetorical reasoning isn’t a question of truth, but of DEGREE of BELIEF awarded them by the people arguing about them.

 Began with premises that were widely accepted, then moved on to those less certain  Quintilian defined argument as “proving what is not certain by means of what is certain.”  Such arguments allow one thing to be inferred by another.  Human behavior is predictable, or certain, to an extent.  Aristotle—can reason about things that happen “as a rule”

 Because statements of what is probably are part of common opinion about humankind, can place degree of trust in them; therefore, they are knowledge and can be premises for rhetorical proofs.  Arguing from probabilities—emphasis on human behavior, not human behavior.  Most famous argument from probability in antiquity: A strong weak person will not physically attack a large strong person.

 Ethos =  Refers to author’s character, credibility  Most important when facts of the argument are in doubt  Mistakes/pitfalls: ◦ Show self as inexperienced or uninformed; don’t draw the correct conclusions ◦ Draw correct conclusions, BUT shows character flaw (greed, dishonesty, etc) ◦ Lack of good will

 Invent: construct character within discourse by giving qualifications, telling about self in relation to issue, recalling remarks made about self by others  Knowledge of topic  Voice and rhetorical distance:  1 st, 2 nd, or 3 rd person; active/passive voice; present/past verb tense  Diction: polysyllabic, more precise  Qualifiers: most, some, virtually, all  Punctuation: CAPTIALS, underlining, exotic marks close distance (like gestures, expressions)

 Pathos = Emotion  Enargeia = feel emotions, picture vividly  Appeals to audience’s sense of emotion, sympathy  Types of pathos: narrative, anecdote, connotation (honorific or pejorative), testimony