The Art of Persuasion Aristotle’s Eros, Pathos, and Logos Source: Aristotle’s Rhetoric and http://courses.durhamtech.edu/perkins/aris.html

Aristotle's Rhetoric Rhetoric (n) - the art of speaking or writing effectively (Webster's Definition). Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and his writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Aristotle is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy

Aristotle's Appeals The goal of argumentative writing (or any writing, for that matter) is to persuade your audience that your ideas are valid, or worth reading. The Greek philosopher Aristotle divided the means of persuasion, appeals, into three categories--Ethos, Pathos, Logos.

Ethos Ethos or ethical appeal, means convincing by the character of the author. That is, we tend to believe people whom we respect. One of the central problems of argumentation is to project an impression to the reader that you are someone worth listening to, in other words making yourself as author into an authority on the subject of the paper, as well as someone who is likable and worthy of respect. This can also be seen as the “expert testimony” of argumentation

Pathos (Emotional) Pathos means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions Language choice affects the audience's emotional response, and emotional appeal can effectively be used to enhance an argument Anecdote: A short, amusing and interesting story about a real incident or person. It is often used as informal evidence as opposed to scientific or research based evidence.

Logos (Logical) Logos refers to persuading by the use of reasoning. Uses deductive and inductive reasoning Giving reasons is the heart of argumentation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHJlVRFJb6A