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Ethos, Pathos, Pathos And Logos In Aristotle's Politics

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Aristotle’s Politics
In Aristotle’s Rhetoric, Aristotle argues that rhetoric should be used to portray the truth and to persuade people to follow the truth, not to manipulate the audience. According to Aristotle, rhetoric is both a natural method of persuasion and something that can be learned. Aristotle says, “ordinary people do this either at random or through practice and from acquired habit” (Rhetoric). There are three modes of persuasion, logos, ethos, and pathos, each used in a unique way. “The modes of persuasion are the only true constituents of the art: everything else is merely accessory,” according to Aristotle (Ibid). For rhetoric to be effective each mode of persuasion must be used correctly - ethos to exhibit ethics, logos …show more content…

It is human instinct to try and convince others that you are right and to do that you support your opinions with facts, you use logic, and sometimes, when appropriate, you bring emotion into the conversation. Even though rhetorical use in our speech is instinctive, it is a skill we can develop and some people must study it more than others. Through practice, we are able to strengthen our skills of persuasion. To be persuasive, one must know their audience:
Rhetoric falls into three divisions, determined by the three classes of listeners to speeches. For of the three elements in speech-making--speaker, subject, and person addressed--it is the last one, the hearer, that determines the speech’s end and object. (Rhetoric) The better one knows their audience the more likely they are to have an open-minded audience. In every argument, there are three parts: the speaker, the subject, and the person addressed. The subject must be of interest or possible interest to the person addressed and the speaker must be knowledgeable and passionate about their subject. In today’s age, the use of persuasive rhetoric is everywhere. The most recognized use of rhetoric today is through political propaganda. Politics are confusing to many people and disliked by many more. The reason for this is because politics are often misleading. “Political speaking urges us either to do or not do something: one of these two courses is always taken by private counselors, as well as by men who address

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