Arguments Using Pathos and Ethos

Over the past week, the readings have stressed the importance of using pathos and ethos to support an argument.  These are very basic forms of persuasion or getting a point across that are frequently used in everyday speaking, writing, advertisements and any other forms of communication between people.  I know this because every English or Composition class that I have been in since middle school has made a huge effort to pound these into my head.  It is obvious that these types of persuasion are very important and are essential to winning an argument, whether it be in a classroom, with your parents, with a friend, in an academic paper, in an election, in a debate or any other type of instance where you want to be heard.  Mastery of using these tactics will lead to strong arguments and people listening to your ideas.
Pathos refers to appealing to emotions to influence others what to believe or think.  People have emotions and make decisions that rely solely on them.  I feel it is the most powerful form of persuasion.  There are so many emotions that can be played on like happiness, sadness, insecurity, fear, hate, hope, empathy, etc.  The best examples I can think of are the Humane Society commercials that show homeless, beaten and neglected animals.  It is clear that they are trying to appeal to the emotion of sadness and sympathy and a person may be more inclined to donate or adopt.  Orators can use pathos by using humor or personal experiences to appeal to the audience.  Although pathos is a very powerful form of persuasion, it needs to be used with caution or else the audience may be offended.
Ethos refers to bringing sufficient and appropriate credibility, authority, and motives to a subject that is being argued.  The use of ethos determines whether a reader or listener will pay attention to what you are saying.  An arguer needs to establish character, show their credibility, and come clean about their motives in order for anyone to listen to them.  The best example I can think of for ethos is Presidents trying to win a campaign and demonstrating ethos through their speeches to the American people.  They pick stances on issues to build character and show motives as well as gain credibility from all their years in the government.

Arguments

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Arguments are everywhere. No matter how you live your life, you are going to face an argument at some point.  It is clear that it is only in human nature for people to argue.  I would be surprised to hear a person say they have never been in an argument.  Looking back in history, arguments have shaped how the world has become today.  Arguments are at the roots of war, inequality, divorce, racism, politics, and many other things.  This country was practically founded on arguments.  The Founding Fathers spent weeks in conventions arguing over how their new country should work.  The political parties today still debate over the same subjects.  It is clear arguments will never die.  Simply put by the article called “Inventing Arguments,” an argument is the act of asserting, supporting and defending a claim.  There are more subtle forms of an argument, aside from the examples I stated above which can create turmoil, hatred, and divisions among people.  These are more simple and common among the general public.  These types of arguments are mainly to get someone’s point across or to sound more credible to others.  Usually, a person will make a claim and can defend that claim with rhetoric, facts, and opinions from their own perspective.  It is so common, I feel like we do not even realize we are arguing all the time.  It can be as simple as debating with a friend on where to go to eat for lunch.  It is interesting to me that there are even jobs based on arguments like lawyers, politicians, businessmen, critics and many others that I cannot think of.  Teachers encourage children from a young age to debate in the classroom.  I can think of numerous classes I have taken in which weeks were devoted to debating.  I even had debates in Spanish classes.  In high school, there is an entire club devoted to debating.  They would practice for hours on how to make a statement and support it with any method they knew.  I feel that arguments are important and without them life would be boring.

Here are a couple ideas for visual arguments that I could possibly use for Writing Project One.

MY VERY FIRST BLOG: ABOUT ME

Hey everyone! My name is Danielle Barnard and I am from Phoenix, Arizona. I grew up here my entire life and I love it. I am a freshman attending my second semester at ASU. I currently live in the dorms called San Pablo. My major is Biological Sciences Pre Med. I hope to become a doctor someday but I would be happy with anything in the medical field where I can be doing good for others. My dream is to be an ER doctor. My family lives here in Phoenix as well.  My parents are at home in Ahwahtukee while my two older brothers recently bought a house in Tempe.  I love doing things with my family like traveling and riding dirtbikes and quads. We regularly travel to Rocky Point, Durango and to our cabin in northern Arizona. I currently have a boyfriend who I spend almost every second of every day with. I'm crazy in love with him. We have a lot of similar intrests so I think thats why we get along so well and can stand eachother. I am also very close with his family. That's pretty much me in a nutshell.