your audience has feelings too - pathos and the "appeal to emotion"

YOUR AUDIENCE HAS FEELINGS TOOPathos and the “Appeal to Emotion”

ARISTOTLE’S RHETORIC

•Ethos – credibility•Logos – logic•Pathos – emotion

ETHOS

LOGOS

PATHOS

truthiness/ˈtruːθɪnəs/

The quality of seeming or being

felt to be true, even if not necessarily

true.

PATHOS AND THE “APPEAL TO

EMOTION”: AN ARISTOTELIAN

ANALYSISAlan BrintonHistory of Philosophy Quarterly

Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul., 1988), pp. 207-219

1. EVOCATION2. APPROPRIATENESS3. ACTION

EVOCATION

EVOCATIONWhat we should feel

•Tell a story•Arouse empathy•Establish relevant grounds for emotion

APPROPRIATENESS

APPROPRIATENESSProportion and direction

•Present evidence•Amplify /depreciate certain ideas•Focus our attention

ACTION

Emotions are the reasons for action, not just the causes of action.

ACTIONWhat we should do about it

•Call on justified emotion•Propose reasonable action•The right thing, at the right time, in the right way

1. EVOCATIONEstablish relevant grounds for emotion

2. APPROPRIATENESSFocus our attention

3. ACTIONThe right thing, at the right time, in the right way

Q & A