Chapter 2 The Three Aesthetic Criteria in English RhetoricEnglish rhetoric has long-standing traditions tracing back to Aristotle (382-322BC) and even earlier. The three aesthetic criteria, logos, pathos and ethos, are its fundamental elements.The three aesthetic criteria discussed here are confined to their basic meanings and applications in writing and speaking, equivalent to Chinese―逻辑‖、―情感‖and ―人格‖respectively. Although they can be analyzed separately, these three appeals work together in combination toward persuasive ends.2.1 Logos2.1.1 Logos and logical thinking•Logos refers to the use of logical reasoning to persuade the audience or readers.Effective logical reasoning comes from sound logical thinking, expressed in relevant material, proper organization, coherent sentences, and words that appropriately convey one’s intended meanings. Examine the following example t aken from a student’s composition:To us Chinese, learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. After all, it is different from our mother tongue. Others can learn it well, why not we?Improved paragraph:Learning English is not an easy thing for a Chinese student like me, because English is quite different from my mother tongue in spelling, pronunciation and grammar. However, since many other Chinese students have learned English well, why can’t I?2.1.2 Formal logic and syllogism•Formal logicIn formal logic there are two basic approaches people often use for logical reasoning: deduction and induction.Deduction is the process of drawing a conclusion from propositions命题known to be true, or accepted as true, or assumed to be true. The typical expression of deductive inference is the syllogism 三段论(法).Induction is the opposite process of reasoning, the conscious mental process by which we pass from the perception of particular phenomena (things and events) to the knowledge of general truths. The sense perception is expressed logically in the singular or particular judgment.•SyllogismSyllogism represents deductive reasoning in a pattern consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. The essential feature of deduction is the necessary character of the connexion between the antecedent or premises and the consequent or conclusion. Granted the truth of the antecedent judgments, the consequent must follow; and the firmness of our assent to the latter is conditioned by that of our assent to the former.Common patterns of syllogism:1. The hypothetical syllogism:Major premise: If P, then Q If P, then QMinor premise: P Not QConclusion: Therefore Q Therefore not PExample:If the lines of a poem do not rhyme, the poem may be called blank verse; as this poem is rhymeless, you may call it blank verse.2. The either-or syllogism:Major premise: Either A or B (not both) Either A or BMinor premise: A Not AConclusion: Therefore not B Therefore BExample:We could have driven here or taken a taxi. Unfortunately our car broke that day, and so we went there by taxi.3. The categorical syllogism:Major premise: All M’s are P’sMinor premise: S is an MConclusion: Therefore S is a PExample:All men are mortal creatures. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is a mortal creature.2.2. Pathos2.2.1 Changes in the connotation of pathosOriginally, the term ―pathos‖ referred to the emotions in general which a speaker tried to arouse in the audience. In modern rhetoric, it ranges from the study of the psychology of the audience or readers to the application of technology to convince them by emotional appeals.The effects of emotional appeals include moral anger, ambition, excitement, fear, happiness, pity as well as various other feelings. By playing upon such feelings, the writer intends to change the beliefs and behavior of his or her readers.2.2.2 Pathos in use todayEffective appeals to the emotions depend upon the skillful — often witty handling of language, frequently accompanied by exposure and eloquence.•Exposure evokes moral indignation – sometimes humorously, sometimes angrily – by condemning the unjust reality or revealing the difference between how things should be and how they are.Please read a letter in your handout 1, Reading 3 that shows how an American mother resorts to this skill to move others to stand against the US unjust war in Vietnam.•Eloquence refers to language used powerfully and fluently to appeal to people’s nobler emotions--the sense of honor, love of one’s country and hometown, desire to reach toward virtue. Eloquence i s often used emotively, to express one’s emotions and evoke the sympathy of the audience on solemn occasions or issues of great significance. In this respect, the speech made by Martin Luther King, Jr., on August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington can be regarded as a fine sample of ―the emotional crescendo of an emotional day‖2.3 Ethos2.3.1 Multifaceted meanings of ethosThe three basic aspects:•It generally refers to character, sentiment, moral nature: The guiding beliefs, standards, or ideals that characterize or pervade a group, a community, a people, or an ideology; or the spirit that motivates the ideas, customs, or practices of a people, an epoch, or a region.•It refers to the complex fundamental values that underlie, permeate, or actuate major patterns of thought or behavior in any particular culture, society, or institution.•In Aristotelian philosophy, it refers to the character or personality of a human being, especially with respect to a balance between the passion and caution, or the con trast between one’s thought and action.2.3.2 Ethos in rhetoric•In modern rhetoric, ―ethos‖ demonsrates itself in the following ways:1. On serious occasion or disputes of principle, ethos takes as its basis a thorough going study of various schools of philosophical views on different values, different ways of living and different world outlooks.2. In ordinary speech or writing, ethos refers to the personal standing, academic authority, and moral qualities of the writer or speaker, used to guarantee or even raise the writer’s or speaker’s credibility and acceptability in the eyes of the readers or audience.2.4. Fallacies2.4.1 Fallacies in logical reasoningThe term ―fallacy‖ as used in logic refers to the following two cases:1. When a writer makes misleading statements by withholding facts, slanting evidence, drawing an unjustified inference, or arguing beside the point.2. When a writer’s (or speaker’s) attempt to reach a sound conclusion is thwarted because he does not know enough about a situation or because he makes a mistake in interpreting his information.•Some of the common errors in logical reasoning:Non sequitur不根据前提而下的论断:the phrase means ―it does not follow‖ and applies to errors of reasoning in which the conclusion does not follow from the evidence presented. Sometimes a step in reasoning has been omitted, and the fallacy can be corrected by supplying the missing link. But sometimes the conclusion is drawn from evidence that has no bearing on the issue.For example, once a Scot argued that Shakespeare must have been a Scot, and when asked for his evidence, he replied, ―The ability of the man warrants the assumption.‖ Reasoning of this kind is also called ―false assumption‖.Begging the question (故意回避论点时)以假定为论据的狡辩The phrase means to assume the truth of a point that needs to be proved.Examples:―This senseless language requirement should be dropped.‖―The foreign language requirement, because it is valuable, should be retained.‖These two views, contradicting each other, are both begging the question, i.e. they both assume what they should prove. There is an extended form of begging the question called ―circular reasoning‖ 循环论证.For example:―T.S. Eliot is the best 20th-century poet, because the best critics say so.‖Post hoc, ergo propter hoc:牵强附会The phrase in Latin refers to the generalization from insufficient evidence as ―based on this supposition, therefore, on account of it‖. For example:―Since they abolish ed capital punishment, the crime rate there has increased, which tells that capital punishment must be restored.‖This conclusion is not well grounded, for although the abolition can be a factor to the crime increase, other factors, such as economic depression and increase of unemployment, must also be observed.2.4.2 Fallacies related to pathos•Fallacious use of pathos arises chiefly from two types of relations:1. When one lacks evidence, and tries to please people’s ears by emotional appeal.2. When one is poor in logical reasoning, and resorts to sophistry or merely personal attack to divert the readers’ or audience’s attention from the grounds of the argument.•Two common errors in the use of pathos:1. Ignoring the question:This is a broad term for various irrelevant arguments. Some people merely resorts to using fine words or other emotional means to persuade the audience to arrive at a judgment without examining the evidence. What a governor said in defense of his administration can be taken as an example:My administration is not corrupt because the state budget is balanced, and my devotion and dedication to the fine people of this great state is therefore evident.2. Argument about a person:This fallacy is also called ―Personal attack‖ or ―Argument Ad Hominem‖, which resorts to abusing the character of an opponent rather than disputing his opinion.Example:The public should not take seriously Dr. Mason’s plan for upgrading county health service. He is a former alcoholic whose wife recently divorced him.2.4.3 Fallacious use of ethos•Blind worship of one’s own standard of ethos1. Since there are differences in ethos in different regions, different c ountries and different groups of people, the correct attitude is to respect each other, and seek the common ground while reserving differences, otherwise there will be disputes, quarrels, conflicts and wars.2. Certain people of power tend to compel other people and even other countries to accept their standard of ethos. For example, according to Hitler, his nationality and his ideology were superior to all others and had the right to lord it over them.•The practice of ―sham ethos‖ 虚假的1. Business advertisements are important means to promote sales, but there are people who resort to false propaganda in their ad campaigns. For example, some companies declare their products are a ―famous brand‖ or fabricate names which sound or appear similar to t hose of world fame. However, such dealing is dishonest and will definitely cause troubles.2. Name cards are useful in communication, but some people print a long list of titles and positions on a small card so as to raise their status. However, this may produce a negative effect, because some of the titles or positions are not so significant.Assignment: See your Handout 1: Exercise Two。
