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Pathos
Pathos
29/11/2016, 01)02
Pathos
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pathos (/pes/, US /peos/; plural: pathea; Greek: , for "suffering" or "experience"; adjectival
form: 'pathetic' from ) represents an appeal to the emotions of the audience, and elicits feelings
that already reside in them.[1] Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric (where it is
considered one of the three modes of persuasion, alongside ethos and logos), and in literature, film and other
narrative art.
Emotional appeal can be accomplished in a multitude of ways:
by a metaphor or storytelling, commonly known as a hook,
by passion in the delivery of the speech or writing, as determined by the audience.
Personal anecdote
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathos
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With this understanding, Aristotle argues for the rhetor to understand the entire situation of goals and
audiences to decide which specific emotion the speaker would exhibit or call upon in order to persuade the
audience. Aristotles theory of pathos has three main foci: the frame of mind the audience is in, the variation
of emotion between people, and the influence the rhetor has on the emotions of the audience. Aristotle
classifies the third of this trio as the ultimate goal of pathos.[3] Similarly, Aristotle outlines the individual
importance of persuasive emotions, as well as the combined effectiveness of these emotions on the audience.
Moreover, Aristotle pointedly discusses pleasure and pain in relation to the reactions these two emotions
cause in an audience member.[3] According to Aristotle, emotions vary from person to person. Therefore, he
stresses the importance of understanding specific social situations in order to successfully utilize pathos as a
mode of persuasion.[3]
Aristotle identifies the introduction and the conclusion as the two most important places for an emotional
appeal in any persuasive argument.[4]
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The concept of emotional appeal existed in rhetoric long before Aristotles Rhetoric. George A. Kennedy, a
well-respected, modern-day scholar, identifies the appeal to emotions in the newly formed democratic court
system before 400 BC in his book, The Art of Persuasion in Greece.[8] Gorgias, a Sophist who preceded
Aristotle, was interested in the orators emotional appeal as well. Gorgias believed the orator was able to
capture and lead the audience in any direction they pleased through the use of emotional appeal.[8] In the
Encomium of Helen, Gorgias states that a soul can feel a particular sentiment on account of words such as
sorrow and pity. Certain words act as "bringers-on of pleasure and takers-off of pain.[9] Furthermore,
Gorgias equates emotional persuasion to the sensation of being overtaken by a drug: "[f]or just as different
drug draw off different humors from the body, and some put an end to disease and other to life, so too of
discourses: some give pain, others delight, others terrify, others rouse the hearers to courage, and yet others
by a certain vile persuasion drug and trick to soul."[9]
Plato also discussed emotion appeal in rhetoric. Plato preceded Aristotle and therefore laid the groundwork,
as did other Sophists, for Aristotle to theorize the concept of pathos. In his dialogue Gorgias, Plato discusses
pleasure versus pain in the realm of pathos though in a fictional conversation between Gorgias and Socrates.
The dialogue between several ancient rhetors that Plato created centers around the value of rhetoric, and the
men incorporate aspects of pathos in their responses. Gorigas, discredits pathos and instead promotes the use
of ethos in persuasion.[10] In another of Platos texts, Phaedrus, his discussion of emotions is more pointed;
however, he still does not outline exactly how emotions manipulate an audience.[11] Plato discusses the
danger of emotions in oratory. He argues that emotional appeal in rhetoric should be used as the means to an
end and not the point of the discussion.[11]
Contemporary pathos
George Campbell, a contributor to the Scottish Enlightenment, was one of the first rhetoricians to
incorporate scientific evidence into his theory of emotional appeal.[12] Campbell relied heavily on a book
written by physician David Hartley, entitled Observations on Man. The book synthesized emotions and
neurology and introduced the concept that action is a result of impression. Hartley determined that emotions
drive people to react to appeals based on circumstance but also passions made up of cognitive impulses.[12]
Campbell argues that belief and persuasion depend heavily on the force of an emotional appeal.[13]
Furthermore, Campbell introduced the importance of the audiences imagination and will on emotional
persuasion that is equally as important as basic understanding of an argument.[13] Campbell, by drawing on
the theories of rhetoricians before him, drew up a contemporary view of pathos that incorporates the
psychological aspect of emotional appeal.
An orators reliance on emotional appeal is evident in modern-day speechmaking, but this technique is no
longer referred to as emotional appeal; it is instead psychological.[12]
See also
Appeal to emotion
Bread and circuses
Pathetic fallacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathos
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Pathology
Rhetoric
References
1. Robyn Walker. Strategic Business Communication: For Leaders. Google Books.
2. Aristotle, and George Alexander Kennedy. Aristotle On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse. New York: Oxford
UP, 1991. Print. p.119
3. Aristotle; Bizzell, Patricia; Herzberg, Bruce (2001). On Rhetoric (Second ed.). New York: Bedford/ St. Martin's.
4. Lee, Irving (1939). "Some Conceptions on Emotional Appeal in Rhetorical Theory". Speech Monographs. 6 (1): 66
86.
5. Fortenbaugh, W. W. Aristotle's Rhetoric on Emotions. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1974. Print. p.232.
6. Campbell, George, and Lloyd F. Bitzer. The Philosophy of Rhetoric. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1963.
Print.p.81-89.
7. Anonymous; Bizzell, Patricia; Herzberg, Bruce (2001). Rhetorica ad Herennium. Bedford/ St.Martins.
8. Kennedy, George (1963). The Art of Persuasion in Greece. Princeton University Press.
9. Gorgias; Bizzell, Patricia; Bruce, Herzberg. The Rhetorical Tradition (Second Edition). Encomium of Helen.
10. Plato; Bizzell, Patricia; Herzberg, Bruce. The Rhetorical Tradition Second Edition). Gorgias. Bedford/ St. Martin's.
11. Plato; Bizzell, Patricia; Herzberg, Bruce (2001). The Rhetorical Tradition (Second Edition). Phaedrus. New York:
Bedford/ St. Martin's.
12. Gardiner, Norman (1937). Feeling and Emotion: A History of Theories. New York: American Book Co.
13. Golden, James; Corbett, Edward (1990). The Rhetoric of Blair, Campbell, and Whately. SIU Press.
External links
The dictionary definition of pathos at Wiktionary
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pathos&oldid=751834866"
Categories: Rhetoric Emotion Philosophical concepts
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