Friday, November 04, 2005

Pathos

Pathos is an appeal based on emotion. Fear is a good motivator in Pathos as well as Sympathy. Any kind of emotional appeal will work. This is probably the strongest argument. When you appeal to a person’s emotions they tend to forget to ask the basic questions. Why is this statement making me feel this why and what is the motivation behind the person who is inciting these emotions? That is not to say that Pathos is a negative argument. It may be used to manipulate people but in other cases it can stir people to action that they may not take when presented with cold, hard facts. We have all been the subject of emotional appeal. Everyday advertisers try to get us to buy their products based on our perception of how they will make us “feel.”

4 comments:

Jack Steiner said...

Why rely on logic, emotion makes decisions far too easy.

ObilonKenobi said...

True but emotional decisions are not usually the best ones. We should use logic to judge what is true but when faced with conflicting choices that seem both just as reasonable, logical or beneficial, then we need to use our "gut instincts."

Jack Steiner said...

I agree that logic should be used, but I would argue that the majority of people do not use it.

ObilonKenobi said...

Agreed. Emotional decisions are much more popular. Hence the concept of impulse items at the cash register and the 2004 election.