Aristotle was Plato's most famous student and later tutor to Alexander the Great. He started his own school called the Lyceum where he discussed developing a universal method of reasoning using logic to learn about reality. Aristotle described the three appeals of persuasion as pathos (emotion), logos (logic), and ethos (ethics or authority). He believed the most persuasive speakers could employ all three appeals by appealing to an audience's emotions, using sound reasoning and logic, and establishing their credibility.

1. Aristotle (384-
322BCE)
•Plato's most famous student.
•For a time the personal tutor of Alexander the Great.
•Aristotle also started his own school, the Lyceum in 335 B.C.
•Very little of Aristotle's own writings remain intact. Students recorded nearly
everything he discussed at the Lyceum.
•The aim of Aristotle's logical treatises was to develop a universal method of
reasoning by means of which it would be possible to learn everything there is to
know about reality.

2. Appeals
Pathos, Logos, Ethos

3. Pathos
Appeal to emotion
•
You know that an author is using pathos
when he attempts to evoke fear, sympathy,
sorrow, excitement, distrust, or any other
emotional response.

4. Logos
Appeal to Logic
•
You know that an author is using logos
when she uses the terms of logic, like
“therefore” and “cause and effect” or refers
to scientific research, or mathematical
reasoning.

5. Ethos
Appeal to Ethics (can also mean “history”
“tradition” “authority”)
•
You know that an author is using ethos when he invokes the
voice of someone well-know and well-regarded, or when he
says that his ideas are in line with those from the past, or
implies that his argument is backed by a religious or other
moral code.

6. In Aristotle’s Words
•
There are, then, these three means of effecting persuasion.
The man who is to be in command of them must, it is clear,
be able (1) to reason logically, (2) to understand human
character and goodness in their various forms, and (3) to
understand the emotions-that is, to name them and describe
them, to know their causes and the way in which they are
excited.

7. In Aristotle’s Words
•
There are, then, these three means of effecting persuasion.
The man who is to be in command of them must, it is clear,
be able (1) to reason logically, (2) to understand human
character and goodness in their various forms, and (3) to
understand the emotions-that is, to name them and describe
them, to know their causes and the way in which they are
excited.