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4 part 4

Rhetorical Triangle

Bust of Aristotle

Aristotle wrote one of the first great treatises on rhetoric, aptly titled, Rhetoric. This treatise
was written in the 4th century BCE, and it outlines the three main rhetorical appeals: logos,
pathos, and ethos. These three persuasive strategies make up the rhetorical triangle.

Aristotle himself did not use the image of a triangle, but he did outline the effective uses of
these three modes of persuasion.

The Three Points of the Rhetorical Triangle

Think of the triangle as a tortilla chip on a plate of nachos. Sometimes you get a chip with a
little of everything on it: cheese, meat, and guacamole. Some of the chips have only meat
and cheese or just cheese and guacamole. Every now and then you enjoy a delicious chip
just dipped in the guacamole alone.
This is how the rhetorical triangle works. You can form an argument using all three appeals.
However, you don't always need to use all three. Sometimes you can make an acceptable
argument just using a couple of persuasive techniques, like the chip with meat and cheese.

Logos is the meat of an argument. When you are presenting an appeal to logos, you present
logic, facts, or truth. It is the message by which you attempt to reason with your audience.

Let's call pathos the cheese because it's the appeal to your audience's emotions. You can
move your audience to anger to take action towards war. You can move your audience to
fear in order to persuade them to buy a product that prevents illness. Sadness can cause an
audience to donate to a cause. Or you can move your audience to believe that certain
opinions or actions will make themselves and others happy.

As for ethos, you can think of it as the guacamole. Guacamole is good for you, right? Its
nutrition credibility is in vitamins E and C. Well, ethos is the speaker or writer's character,
credibility, and authority. Ethos attempts to show you that the person or entity
communicating is a valid source of information. For example, your teachers' ethos comes
from the credibility of their degrees. So, you consider their opinions on particular subjects to
be worthy.

Nachos can be made in any combination, with more of one ingredient and less of another.
Argument works this way, as well. You can try out different persuasive 'recipes' in your
writing to find the mix that suits your needs and audience.

Of course, the strongest arguments are usually built on points that take advantage of logos,
pathos, and ethos together. Aristotle thought that logos was the most important of the
three, but not all audiences will be persuaded by logos alone. A strong ethos, for instance,
may make your audience more receptive to the logos you employ.

For example, if you are trying to write a health article, you may do research and provide
accepted medical facts. However, if you make clear your credibility as a medical doctor
(ethos), your audience may be more receptive to accepting your statements as true.
Presenting just the research without your credentials could result in skepticism from some
audiences. Furthermore, discussing your own personal experiences in treating or living with
a particular disorder would draw sympathy (pathos) from your readers. See the examples
below to get an idea of how the three parts of the rhetorical triangle work together.

Using the Rhetorical Triangle in Arguments

Let's look at a visual argument to get an idea of how these concepts work. You can see in
advertisements the use of the three rhetorical appeals to persuade an audience. The ad
below utilizes all three corners of the rhetorical triangle; it illustrates all three rhetorical
appeals. But the logos of health has been transmuted into a pathos of humor.

The image on the left reads, 'A National Drink,' implying that drinking this beer will show
your patriotism. This is a use of ethos that builds credibility for drinking this particular
beverage.

The right image reads, 'A Family Drink,' which appeals to the audience's emotions, or
pathos, by asking the viewer to associate this drink with feelings of comfort and happiness.

Finally, the large image at the center states, 'A Healthy Drink,' indicating a logical appeal to
the merit of taking care of one's health. However, the man's portly physique and impish grin
may indicate that this appeal to logic is not to be taken too seriously.

You can use these persuasive techniques in your written arguments. Let's say that you want
to convince your readers to visit your blog about renewable resources. The following
statements could be made as support:

Logos - Planting one tree can supply enough oxygen for two people once the tree is fully grown.
Pathos - Check my t-shirts and bamboo jewelry! You will love them
Ethos - I put 30% of the site's profit back into sustaining renewable resources.

Each of these statements supports the overall goal of the writer but in different ways. The
logical appeal gives facts about why people should plant more trees. The appeal to emotion
targets the audience's desire to look cool. And the ethical appeal lets readers know that the
writer is sincere and will put their money to good use.
1. Ethos is. . .

1. An appeal regarding credibility.

2. An appeal to emotions.
3. An appeal to logic.
4. An appeal to the ether.

2. What are the three rhetorical appeals?

1. Logos, pathos, and chronos.

2. Persuasion, communication, and the rhetorical triangle.
3. Logos, pathos, and ethos.
4. Essays, advertising, and treatises.

3. The Greek philosopher who outlined the three concepts of rhetoric was
named:

1. None of these answers are correct

2. Plato
3. Socrates
4. Aristotle

4. Pathos is. . .

1. An appeal to emotions.
2. A form of meditation.
3. An appeal regarding credibility.
4. An appeal to reason.

5. Logos is. . .

1. An appeal regarding credibility.

2. All answers are incorrect.
3. An appeal to reason.
4. An appeal to emotions.