Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

The character of the speaker is the most authoritative mode of persuasion. When we believe a speaker because they seem knowledgeable, honest, and genuinely concerned for our wellbeing, we are being persuaded by ethos. Aristotle is careful to say that ethos must be produced by the speech itself — not by prior reputation. A speaker establishes ethos through what they say and how they say it, demonstrating practical wisdom (phronēsis), virtue (aretē), and goodwill (eunoia) in the very act of speaking.

Emotion is not mere irrationality to be suppressed in rational discourse. Aristotle argues that emotions are partly cognitive — they involve beliefs and judgements about how the world is and how it bears on what we care about. When an audience is angry, fearful, or moved to pity, their emotional state reflects a judgement about the situation. The skilled rhetorician must understand these emotions well enough to place the audience in the right emotional condition to judge correctly — not to manipulate them, but to ensure their emotional response tracks the realities of the case.

Logos is the core of rhetoric: the argument, the proof, the demonstration that what the speaker claims is actually true or plausible. Aristotle's analysis of logos in rhetoric centres on the enthymeme — a syllogism drawn from probable premises, suited to the quick-moving conditions of public speech. Unlike the full demonstrations of science, enthymemes leave out what the audience already knows and move fast enough to be followed in real time. Logos without ethos and pathos falls flat; but ethos and pathos without logos are empty. All three together constitute persuasive speech.

The three modes of persuasion are introduced in Rhetoric I.2. Aristotle's analysis of the emotions in Rhetoric II.1–11 is one of the most detailed psychological treatments in ancient philosophy, covering anger, calm, friendship, enmity, fear, confidence, shame, indignation, pity, envy, and emulation. The triad ethos-pathos-logos remains the standard framework in modern rhetorical theory.