According to Aristotle, ethos is defined as the credibility that the author establishes. Ethos is classified as one of three types of persuasion; the other two being logos and pathos. Ethos is a greek term from which ethics is derived and is referred to as ethical appeal in the rhetorical context. The basis of rhetoric is formed from the author's attitude and character toward his audience. His character is what gives value to his words and thus, provides support and proof to his arguments.
As an orator, one has the advantage of persuading the audience through speech as well as emotions (Homer 51) Also, there can be constant interaction between the orator and the audience. But in writing, through the words on the page, one has to thoroughly demonstrate to the audience his credibility. Thus, ethos is a critical element without which rhetoric would not be able to function.
Credibility can be established by demonstrating three characteristics in writing: intelligence, virtue, and goodwill. Intelligence, the first quality, is indicated by a certain amount of knowledge of the subject. Common sense combined with convincing arguments that are logical is essential in demonstrating this quality. Discussing the various viewpoints of a subject also exhibits a certain amount of intelligence. The audience consists of as many opinions as people and therefore, recognizing these vie wpoints only helps the author in building his persuasion.
Virtue and good character is another quality by which the author becomes believable. Stating ones beliefs, values, and priorities in connection with the subject assists in convincing the audience of the argument. If these beliefs and values coincide with the majority of the audience, the writer is well on his way to success. Goodwill is the last attribute essential to establishing credibility. This characteristic projects concerns for the audience's viewpoint and respects their intelligience, sinc erety and common sense.
The essence of the speaker's relationship to his audience is the attitude which he assumes toward them (Talmadge 157). The range of attitudes extends from formality to informality. The speaker who establishes a formal relationship with his audienc e maintains " an aloof dignity " suitable for serious discourse whereas the informal speaker regards his audience more as a group of individuals with whom he can be familiar, like friends engaging in an easy conversation. The approach that a speaker uses should be determined at an early stage of planning and then carefully maintained throughout the speech ( Talmadge 159). This leads to the classification of the diversified audience to which the speaker must pay attention to.
Ethos must attend to the various character types if the speaker is to address his audience successfully. It is a simple concept to comprehend because just as one has to go down to the level of a child to speak to a five-year old, the speaker has to be able to communicate in the specific type of language depending upon the whom the audience consists of.
In terms of their character, according to the Greek view, the young are "pleasure-loving, impulsive, and optimistic" (Kennedy 164). To a certain extent, these qualities hold truth; the young can also be characterized by being guileless, trusting, co urageous, confident, and adventurous. Thus, these characteristics assist the speaker in portraying a speech that will invite and discuss adventure, friendship, money and lust and therefore, persuade the audience upon the subject.
People who are older, past their prime years, are quite the opposite of those just described (Kennedy 167). Older people are doubtful, cynical, suspicious, querulous, small-minded, stingy, cowardly and fearful. They expect the worst out of life an d live in the past of the fond memories. It is quite obvious then that the speaker should uplift the older audience, boost their self-esteem, encourage them to be more positive, and basically try to instigate love and happiness in their lives. It is th rough these means that the speaker will gain trust in this audience.
It is now evident that those in the prime of life will be between the young and old in character. The qualities are not of extremes such as trusting or distrusting, frugality or extravagance, but most times, the combination of the two. Without much difficulty, the speaker should easily be able to convince this group since their characteristics are in sync with normality.
In the book, On Rhetoric, Aristotle mentions that one particular reason for stressing character within the speech was that Greek law required the defendants to speak on their own behalf (38). Thus, ethos became a vital source for authority in those days.It is through their speeches and how they would convey themselves, that they would win the people.
Knowledge, of tokalon, the honarable, fine, or noble and to a lesser extent its opposite, the shameful is useful in a speaker's effort to secure the trust of the audience so that they will believe what is being said (Kennedy 78). These views portray the values of Greek society in the time of Aristotle. They infer that intellectual and moral values should be attained prior to producing rhetoric because these qualities will assist the rhetor in building trust in the audience.
The tone of the speaker also affects his ability to convince the audience. The tone of asuccessful speech will seem inseparable from the content. "This effect is achieved by the speaker who keenly aware of his own attitude toward his material, who deliberately sustains in his mind in the proper tone, and who remains in full control of it as he speaks"(Talmadge 151). Each piece of discourse has its own individual tone, for every speaker's attitude toward his material and his audience may be unique on each occasion that he speaks.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one one of the most successful users of ethos. "His voiceand moral stature were eloquent weapons in the fight for civil rights and integration in the 1960s." (Homer 51) In his letters or speeches, he establishes credibili ty in a number of ways. He provided allusions to outside authorities, reminded the audience of his motives and morals, and he appealed to the goodwill of the audience by making clear that he is answering their criticisms. Virtue is reiterated in his dis course by his constant call on God's forgiveness. " He leaves his readers with the firm impression that he is a person of intelligience, virtue and goodwill arguing a just cause and it is in his words, sentences, and allusions that King establishes his character." (Homer 54)
Persona is a term related to ethos in literarty theory. " In classical drama, a persona was literally a mask that an actor wore, both to amplify his voice and to provide clues about his character." (Covino 52) Ethos and persona are like two endpoi nts on a continuum, with ethos being the speaker's "real" self and persona being a fictional character appropriate for the specific situation. Although these concepts are separable, sometimes situations require the speaker to establish both ethos and pe rsona (Covino 52)
There has been much debate in the history of rhetorical theory over the ultimate source of ethos. Aristotle argues that ethos must be established by the speech itself and may not depend on the historical characteristics of the speaker (Covino 52). Another argument, developed by Isocrates, Cicero and Quintilian, holds that the speaker's actual history may be used in order to establish credibility. The former traditi on is called the rhetorical view of ethos and the latter tradition is called the philosophical view.
"A serious concern of rhetoricians and philosophers from ancient times to the present is that rhetoric can be misused by the unscrupulous and the appearance of good character may in fact be only an appearance." (Homer 56) Rhetoric can always be used in an unethical manner and there is no way to guard against an evil person using rhetoric. Thus, the true integrity of the speaker becomes paramount because the audience responds to the image presented by the speaker. Therefore, in speech, the strengt h of the argument rests in a great degree on the credibility (ethos) that the rhetor establishes and eventually affects the main purpose of the speech - to persuade.
Works Cited
Covino and Joliffe. Rhetoric. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1995.
Gorell, Robert M. and Charlton Laird. Modern English Handbook. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972.
Homer, Winifred Bryan. Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.
Kennedy, George A. Aristotle On Rhetoric Theory of Civic Discourse. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991
Talmadge, John E. and James B. Haman and Fred Burnhauser. The Rhetoric Reader. Atlanta: Scott, Foresman and Company 1962.
Winterowd, W.Ross. Rhetoric A Synthesis. Atlanta: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,1968.
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