Rhetorical theory studies the linguistic, cognitive, cultural, and philosophical effects of rhetoric. It includes pathos (emotional appeal), ethos (perceived character or experience), and logos (logic). Rhetoricians use these skills to persuade listeners, and students analyze their effects.
Rhetorical theory is the theory that examines rhetoric in terms of its linguistic, cognitive, cultural, and philosophical implications and effects. There are many different branches of rhetorical theory, but they are all united by their focus on rhetoric itself and the ways it can be used and applied to different situations. The earliest recorded studies of rhetorical theory come from ancient Greece, where philosophers divided rhetoric into logos, pathos, and ethos. Distinguishing between rhetorical theory and rhetoric itself can be difficult, but the key difference is that rhetorical theory is more concerned with the effects of rhetoric than with its practice.
The simplest distinctions in rhetoric and rhetorical theory are pathos, ethos and logos. These distinctions are essentially ways rhetoricians aim to persuade their listeners. Pathos focuses on the ways speakers can appeal to emotion. Ethos focuses on the perceived appeal of a person’s character or experience. Logos is the study of logic and includes how arguments can be deconstructed and created.
Students of rhetorical theory are primarily concerned with how various skills in rhetoric affect the listener or reader. Pathos is the process of appealing to emotion and can be analyzed linguistically. The words a rhetorician uses to discuss a topic can be emotionally neutral or emotionally charged. For example, an event might be described as “a chance occurrence with unfortunate consequences” or “a parody, born of indifferent government and reckless neglect of public safety.” While these two statements may discuss the same issue, the latter uses emotionally charged terms like “reckless abandon” to appeal to listeners’ emotions.
Ethos is an area where speakers aim to establish moral or intellectual superiority due to their past experience or character. The effect that someone with a perceived moral high ground, such as a charity worker, has on an audience can be very different from what a convicted murderer would have. Politicians commonly try to use ethos to add value to what they are discussing, because the speaker’s character affects the public’s perception of what is being said. This is why there is often a loss of support if a politician is involved in a scandal.
The last important aspect of rhetorical theory is logos, or logic. The purpose of logic is to construct or deconstruct arguments based on the lines of reasoning behind them. In many ways, flawless logic can have a profound effect on listeners’ cognitive understanding of what is being said. Likewise, faulty logic, correctly identified by an opponent, can have a negative effect on listeners’ opinion of the argument advanced. Interestingly, logic almost specifically aims to remove all layers of irrelevant information produced by both pathos and ethos.
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