Use of Ethos in Political Campaigning
Political campaigning, is it annoying? Many people would agree that it is, but if one looks closely behind the face value of the so-called annoying promotion, one may find a soon to be political figure using a perfect example of persuasion known as rhetoric. Breaking down the rhetorical theories applied to a campaign image can make the political figure seem a lot more interesting. Al Gore and the Democratic party, for example, used name and reputation to run for president of the United States in 2000. An advertisement found on the internet in 1999/2000 proves use of the three theories of rhetoric- ethos, pathos, and logos. Aristotle was one of the first persons to use rhetoric as well as apply it to speech and writing. By referencing to the rhetoric used, one can see how this ancient style of persuasion has lasted long into the twenty-first century. One can also see how rhetoric works on us as a society today.
In a photogragh produced by the Democratic party of 1999/2000 situated ethos was used to promote Al Gore. He was vice president in the same year the advertisement was promoting him, and was using his reputation as vice president to run for president. So it was only fitting that Al Gore would be centered in the photograph. He was not the main focus of the photograph, but definitely big part of the advertisement.
The main focus of the advertisement was the text. The text was very easy to notice with a background that appeared to be a hand-painted city of many colors. The city seemed to be something much like what one would see on a cartoon. In large, white print painted over the colorful city were the words A Voice for Working Families. By using this text the Democratic party was using honorific language (pathos). The colorful background could be interpreted as pathos by appealing to the audience visually. The text was being used as a tool to relate and speak to primarily middle Americans also known as the blue collars of society. With this text Al Gore was saying without speaking, he could relate on their level and he was willing to be their voice in government. Al Gore was using positive text by letting the Americans in the middle class know that he was taking their concerns seriously.
As well as the city of colors, the white text, and Al Gore there were four people in the advertisement.
Talking about Language and Rhetorics, which in turn means using lanuage to communicate persuasively. Rhetorics date all the way back to the fifth Century in athens, Greece. There is 3 types of Rhetorics that are known. The First being Logos, which is the logic behind an argument. Logos tries to persuade an audience using logical arguments and supportive evidence. The next is Pathos, using Emotional Apeal in terms of persuading someone or an audience. Then there is Ethos, using moral competence to persuade the audience to trust in what they are saying is true.
Some of the great philosophers known to man, Aristotle and Plato, wanted the ability to persuade. Aristotle wanted to be able to persuade people with a good amount of time, wisdom, and knowledge so that people could see the good of something. His student, Plato, wanted to be able to persuade people quickly and more affectively by persuading them in a very short time frame. So in order to quickly persuade people, Plato proposed an argument by expressing an idea and supporting it with rhetorical evidence. From Plato’s teaching came three types of rhetorical evidence; logos, which argues by logic; pathos, which argues by the use of sympathy and empathy; and ethos, which argues by the use of ethical appeals. Today the three types of rhetorical analysis can be found everywhere in everyday life. Just like Plato, ad writers who produce TV commercials want to persuade people in a short amount of time. These ad writers have to persuade the view point of their audience in about 30 seconds to a minute in time. In 2010, during Super Bowl XLIV, a commercial by Audi was premiered. This Audi commercial is a great example of the use of the three types of rhetorical evidence; logos, pathos, and ethos.
In the story, What is Rhetoric by William Covino and David Jolliffe, there are a wide variety of topics discussed that are inextricably interwoven with the concept “rhetoric.” Rhetoric, as defined by the authors, is “the study and practice of shaping content.” Consequently, my first thought was: Ok, this is a rather broad and opaque description; my successive thought, however, was one of astonishment, inasmuch as the authors went on to further elucidated this jargon. In doing so, the authors distilled the most crucial elements of what is rhetoric— the prevalence of discourse community, and how appealing language is often a precursor to persuasion.
Ethos, logos, pathos --- which method is necessary when presenting about a topic (6)? The correct answer does not consist of one method alone; instead, a speaker must apply all three tactics to effectively present information to an audience. Through a combination of ethos, logos, pathos, Gore establishes a meaningful connection with the audience, opening a door to their minds (4). They no longer view Al Gore or the information about global warming as being forced upon them. Instead, they absorb the presentation and begin to question their previous beliefs. He establishes the ethos of a normal man who possesses extensive knowledge on a crisis that focuses on morality. He wishes to provide the public with accurate information in order to drive them to take action. Instead of addressing a group of congressmen, Gore speaks directly to the people. The most common method, to establish ethos, within the presentation was through visual elements. Nearly every claim Gore makes about his life is supported by visual evidence such as pictures and videos and graphs (4a). However, ethos is only one point in the triangle of persuasion. Logical reasoning is also a necessary element. Gore uses expert testimonies to provide the audience with factual information from a valid source; for example, when Tony Blair, a scientific advisor, speaks about the temperature changes in Greenland. Gore also appeals to logos through inductive and deductive reasoning. Using these two strategies assures that the audience can follow the information and is unlikely to become overwhelmed. Smoothly switching between general and specific information greatly increases fluidity within a presentation. Lastly, Gore applies the rhetorical device of pathos in order to connect with the emotions of the audience. He needs to pull on their heart strings, draw a few laughs, yet remain near to the subject. The
Effectively communicating an idea or opinion requires several language techniques. In his study of rhetoric, Aristotle found that persuasion was established through three fundamental tools. One is logos, which is used to support an argument through hard data and statistics. Another is ethos, which is the credibility of an author or speaker that allows an audience to conclude from background information and language selection a sense of knowledge and expertise of the person presenting the argument. The impact of pathos, however, is the most effective tool in persuasion due to the link between emotions and decisions. Although each of these tools can be effective individually, a combination of rhetorical devices when used appropriately has the ability to sway an audience toward the writer’s point of view.
The pictures used in the ad, cover many common areas used in political campaigns such as pictures with school children, construction workers, factory worke...
In the time of ancient Greece, there were a category of teachers called the sophists who believed that wisdom and Rhetoric could and should be used for profit and personal gain. Aristotle, a well-known teacher, disagreed with this completely and believed that while Rhetoric is persuasive, it should be used morally and with good intentions. He stressed the idea of using moral standards along with emotion, logic and truth to persuade any audience. Almost 1000 years later, Augustine took this step even further with the use of rhetoric within religion practice. He emphasized the idea that rhetoric is a means by which to promote good will and spread truth. Today, modern rhetorician Dubinsky would take this step even further, by stating that Rhetoric isn’t just a means to an end. Rhetoric improves our very lives and unites people under a common good with the proper ethics. While it is unfortunate that they are from different time periods, Aristotle, St Augustine, and Dubinsky would surely all agree that Rhetoric is a means by which regular people can be persuasive with their ideals. All while using the right morals, good intentions, and correct ethics to do so, so that any regular person can influence and change their world, from the simplest of arguments to the greatest of debates. That is why I believe we should study these famous rhetoricians, because their teachings teach us how to become better people and better writers. Aristotle, St. Augustine, and Dubinsky believed in Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, which means studying and working with your audience to persuade them in such way that you’re collaborating for the benefit of both the writer and the reader.
Rhetorical appeals apply to everyday life and the three sections of the rhetoric’s cover all elements of persuasion. Moore and Machiavelli do an outstanding job of explaining their points and why you should believe what they are saying. Both author’s did a great job of educating and informing their viewers although they were two significantly different pieces. Moore and Machiavelli’s work are each their own with respect to purpose and lessons but they also both come together in regards to using Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals.
Churchill effectively used rhetoric in his speech. Rhetoric is the art of effective persuasive writing and speaking. Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, created rhetoric. There are three types of rhetoric, logos, pathos, and ethos. Each type differs from the other types. Logos is a logical argument built from relevant and sufficient evidence. Logos is based on facts, statistics, and claims based off of logic. Pathos is arguments which evoke emotions in an audience. Some forms of pathos are celebrity testimonials, bandwagon, and fear mongering. All of these evoke emotions in an
He is determined to keep George W. Bush from messing up what he has helped create in the last eight years. So again we are seeing the issue of the economy. We have also seen some negative ad campaigning by Gore. He released two ads that were aired prior to the start of the Republican National Convention. The ads accused Bush of restricting health care to children and allowing Texas to become the smog capital.
The true greatness of the building is in the main room, the atrium is a huge open area in a radial style with a central point being in the center of the room. The room is filled with a combination of circles and squares which illustrates the Romans fascination with geometric shapes. Along with geometric shapes the inside of this building full of brilliant shades of oranges, blues and purples. There are ionic style pillars around the base of the room as well as sculptures of different gods. Just above the main room there is a frieze of false windows that make a band around the midlevel of the room. Although the windows are false there ar...
Aristotle is a famous Greek philosopher and public speaker who lived in the fourth century B.C. He analyzed communication and persuasion to form three methods to persuade: ethos, logos, and pathos.
Rhetorical Analysis and Persuasion Every day we are victims to persuasion whether anyone can notice it or not. Logos, pathos and ethos are the types of persuasion. Logos persuades by reason, pathos by appealing to emotion and ethos by the credibility of the author. The characters in The Iliad employ the use of these techniques to sway another character into doing or feeling something else.
When I first started playing the episode, Ira Glass, host and producer of This American Life, immediately grabbed my attention with the line, “Sometimes things are not what they seem. Big news, I know. Here’s an interesting example of it.” Ira, with a voice clear and engaging, went on to describe the account of Damien Cave, a reporter for The New York Times, on an airplane. Damien was looking through an in-flight magazine that was using ads for tourists to attract people to various lands that were centers of drug and gang-related violence. The prologue had started with an interview with Damien and captured vivid descriptions of his analysis of how ads are tools of those in power to coerce people into thinking and consuming. “Propaganda is
She now sees the power she has within herself now. Eliza now has the skills to be elite, a romantic interest, and a newly rich father. She has bigger and better things besides Professor Higgins. “ELIZA. You see, really and truly, apart from the things anyone can pick up (the dressing and the proper way of speaking, and so on), the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she 's treated. I shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me as a flower girl, and always will; but I know I can be a lady to you, because you always treat me as a lady, and always will.” This truth from Eliza expands to a patriarchal society. The way women are treated to be inferior is what keeps them inferior, not how women act. Eliza is lucky to have the opportunity to hold herself to a higher image that is given the respect she always deserved. If only all women were not treated like flower girls, and like