WINNING OUR HEARTS AND MINDS

logos, ethos, and pathos

These are the concepts the Greek philosopher Aristotle used to assess the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the rhetoric of his day, which was mostly in the form of oratory, or speeches.  Since they are foreign words, they are generally italicized.  (By the way, why the color-coding, do you think?)

A successful argument should strike a balance among all three:

logos (Gr., "word" or "idea")

• English equivalent = logic
• here, the writer attempts to appeal to the reader's mind or sense of reason
• primarily, this entails the use of claims  (factual, value, causal and/or policy claims) supported by statistics, logical reasoning, and/or widely accepted textual authorities such as The U.S. Constitution, lawbooks, and/or previous studies, for instance

ethos (Gr., "character")

• English equivalent - ethics
• be careful, here; ethos applies to trust in the writer, not necessarily your agreement with the argument's moral stand
• here the writer attempts to create a sense of trust and credibility
• creating trust requires that the writer appeal to our reasonable and our emotional selves
• this does not mean that ethos is a combination of logos and pathos.
• through a fair tone and good sources used logically, the writer establishes that he/she cares, knows and can be trusted

pathos (Gr., "emotion")

• English equivalents - sympathy, empathy
• here the writer attempts to appeal to the reader's emotions
• this includes either positive emotions, such as empathy, or negative emotions, such as fear and hatred