Learn It Part 2
Pathos
The second technique is pathos, in which the author makes emotional appeals to the reader or audience. This type of support is a logical fallacy and is not a valid form of evidence to support a claim.
Let’s examine the second part of the excerpt from President Kennedy’s speech.
Analysis |
Example from Speech |
Notice the yellow highlights. In this excerpt, President Kennedy uses pathos by making an emotional appeal about the nation’s founding principles and the current worldwide struggle to protect the rights of others. He goes on to make an emotional appeal that every American should be able to enjoy the same privileges, and be treated as he wishes to be treated, regardless of race or color. |
Pathos Today, we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free… It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case. |
Both ethos and pathos are very effective persuasive techniques, but a critical reader is able to identify the logical fallacies and recognize them as weak supports for an author’s claim.
Logos
The third technique is known as logos, or an appeal to logic and reason.
In the final section of the excerpt from President Kennedy’s speech, the president supports his claim with facts and data.
Analysis |
Example from Speech |
By showing this factual data, the author appeals to the viewer’s sense of logic for equal rights and equal opportunities for all Americans. |
Logos The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the State in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing a high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day, one-third as much chance of completing college, one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much chance of becoming unemployed, about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year, a life expectancy which is 7 years shorter, and the prospects of earning only half as much. |
For more examples of the three forms of persuasive writing go to PathosEthosLogos.comopens in new window.
An author of a persuasive or argumentative text may employ a combination of any of the three techniques -- ethos, pathos and logos. When considering the reasoning and evidence used by an author to support his or her claims, the reader should analyze which type of evidence is used.
The weakest form of evidence is pathos, the emotional appeal. Ethos can also be seen as a weak form of evidence. The strongest evidence is logos -- logic and reason. Think of these techniques as building blocks of argument or persuasion.
You have examined the three techniques used by the same author to support his claims. The next step is to look at how to analyze and evaluate the reasoning and evidence used by the author in support of his or her claim.
On the basis of this step-by-step analysis you can assess or evaluate the extent to which an author uses reasoning and evidence to support his or her claims.
