Terms : Hide Images
| 43230816 | logos | Logos names the appeal to reason. Aristotle wished that all communication could be transacted only through this appeal, but given the weaknesses of humanity, he laments, we must resort to the use of the other two appeals. The Greek term logos is laden with many more meanings than simply "reason," and is in fact the term used for "oration." | |
| 43230817 | pathos | Pathos names the appeal to emotion. Cicero encouraged the use of pathos at the conclusion of an oration, but emotional appeals are of course more widely viable. Aristotle's Rhetoric contains a great deal of discussion of affecting the emotions, categorizing the kinds of responses of different demographic groups. Thus, we see the close relations between assessment of pathos and of audience. Pathos is also the category by which we can understand the psychological aspects of rhetoric. Criticism of rhetoric tends to focus on the overemphasis of pathos, emotion, at the expense of logos, the message. | |
| 43230818 | ethos | Ethos names the persuasive appeal of one's character, especially how this character is established by means of the speech or discourse. Aristotle claimed that one needs to appear both knowledgeable about one's subject and benevolent. Cicero said that in classical oratory the initial portion of a speech (its exordium or introduction) was the place to establish one's credibility with the audience. | |
| 43230819 | ad bacculum argument | also known as appeal to force, is an argument where force, coercion, or the threat of force, is given as a justification for a conclusion. | |
| 43230820 | post hoc ergo propter hoc | a logical fallacy (of the questionable cause variety) which states, "Since that event followed this one, that event must have been caused by this one." | |
| 43230821 | equivocation | It is the misleading use of a term with more than one meaning or sense (by glossing over which meaning is intended at a particular time). | |
| 43230822 | deductive reasoning | reasoning from the general to the particular (or from cause to effect) | |
| 43230823 | inductive reasoning | reasoning from detailed facts to general principles | |
| 43230824 | syllogism | a form of reasoning in which two statements or premises are made and a logical conclusion is drawn from them | |
| 43230825 | appeals to authority | citation of information from people recognized for their special knowledge of a subject for the purpose of strengthening a speaker or writers arguments | |
| 43230826 | ad hominem argument | a fallacy of logic in which a persons character or motive is attacked instead of that persons argument. | |
| 43230827 | apothegm | A terse, witty, instructive saying; a maxim. |
