Aristotle and Modes of Persuasion - Essay Example

Aristotle and Modes of Persuasion On October 15, USC President C.L. Max Nikias presented an inauguration speech in which he was attempting to convince his audience that it is time for some sweeping change in direction at the university in just about every facet of its operation. This idea is made clear throughout his speech, but is most evident when he lists, at about the midway point, some of the major changes he has in mind. These include how to aggressively go after new and promising students while also finding ways to finance the education of those unable to meet the tuition challenges, becoming more deeply involved in working with the surrounding community and bringing the university system into a more cohesive unit in spite of the fact that the campus is divided by the city of Los Angeles. Had he jumped into these topics immediately upon opening his speech, he might have frightened off half of his audience as they became convinced he was going to tear down the walls and create an entirely new academic model to erect in its place. Instead of doing this, Dr. Nikias eased his audience into his ideas through skillful use of traditional tools of rhetoric, carefully balancing ethos, pathos and logos to bring his audience into a welcoming acceptance of his ideas as the answer to a frightening uncertainty regarding the unknown changes that are sure to come within the near future. Since the days of the early Greeks, humans have known of specific ways to increase their ability to persuade others to adhere to a specific point of view. It was Aristotle who first identified the three building blocks needed to change another person’s mind regarding a topic. These include ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos sounds like ethics and can be thought of as the ethics or character of the person speaking. “Aristotle says that if we believe that a speaker has ‘good sense, good moral character, and goodwill,’ we are inclined to believe what that speaker says to us” (Edlund, 2003). Since it is almost impossible for us to know people to the same degree as they might have way back then, we tend to depend on the speaker’s credentials – their professional associations, the work that they’ve done, any awards they’ve received. When an author or speaker brings their credentials up in an article or speech, they are trying to build ethos. Pathos sounds a little bit like passion and refers to an appeal to the audience’s emotions. What Aristotle recognized was that people are often moved more by their emotions than they are by their reason. “Appeals to the emotions and passions are a very effective rhetorical technique, and very common in our society … Many advertisements for consumer goods aim at making us insecure about our attractiveness or social acceptability, and then offer a remedy for this feeling in the form of a product” (Edlund, 2003). Some of the most common emotions that are appealed to are anger, fear and pity because these emotions move people most. Logos sounds like logic and that is what is intended. Logical reasoning means making an argument based on rational thought. An example might be “if A + B = C and D + B = C then A and D are the same.” Although it might be possible to prove this statement is true mathematically, it is not always the case that logical reasoning is undeniably true. “Rhetorical arguments are often based on probabilities rather than certain truth … Persuasion, to a large extent, involves convincing people to accept our assumptions as probably true. Similarly, exposing questionable assumptions in someone else’s argument is an effective means for preparing the audience to accept your own contrary position” (Edlund, 2003). While these three elements of a persuasive argument can be pulled out and discussed individually, in reality, they tend to function together. Within his speech to the students, Dr. Nikias combines all of these elements together in his attempt to convince his audience that he is about to lead this university on to greater achievements than it has seen in the past in spite of the uncertainty everyone has about what the near future will bring. Ethos is all about establishing credibility, but it can also come off sounding like bragging. Dr. Nikias avoids this problem by starting his speech off from a position of humility. Instead of listing his own achievements, he celebrates the credentials of the people he has worked with and the people who selected him for this position. Although he doesn’t get much into his own experience and credentials, they are presumed by the audience to be at least adequate because of his association with others who have many high credentials of their own. The suggestion is that if these highly credentialed individuals respect him and honor his credentials, whatever they are, then there is no reason why those of us who don’t know of his experience shouldn’t give him credit. Dr. Nikias also gains credibility by drawing on the community as his witness as they have worked side by side over the years to contribute to the achievements of the school. His success as a manager is revealed as he brings in mention of his wife and daughters who had been members of the Trojan community as well. The shared history he discusses with them helps to establish his credibility as a man deeply committed and fully aware of the needs and desires of the group. His expressed respect for the outgoing president and the members of the board further identifies him within the USC community. Rather than speaking as an outsider, as his accent might indicate, Dr. Nikias establishes himself as a long-time insider tuned in to what is expected of him as he leads the university forward. However, he also uses his foreign credentials to help boost his ethos within the speech. He is able to view the American educational system from the perspective of an outsider, someone aware of the limitations of achieving an education elsewhere and his childhood memories make him also intimately familiar with the legends that support the school mascot, making him something of an authority on making the type of connection he is making in his speech. Pathos arises in the various ways in which Dr. Nikias delivers his ideas as well as in the subjects he talks about. For example, early in his speech, he introduces his wife and talks about their decision to take up a new life in America. There is a sense of the frightened young people, the unknown and the underlying excitement for what they hoped they might find. He tells the audience, “We could not have imagined how wonderful this American journey would be. I became forever fascinated by the intellectual electricity and the openness you could find only at an American university.” As he delivers this statement, his voice becomes louder, more forceful, and his body becomes more animated. This is a man feeling passion, a man who firmly believes in his statement to the point of feeling it in his bones. In this statement, he is appealing to the deeply felt but less concretely defined element of the American Dream – something definitely shared by anyone associated with a college system and desired by all. This emotion is built up with further references to the characteristics of a uniquely American identity, one that can overcome the fear many are feeling regarding how to prepare for the future. Although he uses fear, one of the stronger emotions to appeal to, he does so with a light hand, simply acknowledging that no one can predict right now what the world will look like in 20 years and thus to know whether the field they study today will be able to support them into their old age. The fear of uncertainty, which is what he is addressing in much of his speech, is something that is felt by most people. What Dr. Nikias does, though, is to soothe those fears with the promise of an education that teaches students to remain flexible enough to change along with the changes that are coming. As he launches into the meat of his speech, he imbues his words with a sense of excitement and hope for the future that is also conveyed in his mannerisms and tone of voice. By continuing to make appeals to the American Dream and the excitement and hope for the future, he is able to create an atmosphere in which the audience also begins to feel these things. Thus, their already present fear for the future is soothed and reassured by the triumphant success of the original Trojans who founded the Empire of Rome, one of the largest and longest-lasting empires of history. He uses logos to argue that USC is a reasonable comparison to the original Trojans after delivering a brief summary of the legend of Aeneus. He starts this argument by suggesting that the fear of uncertainty can be combated with the realization that times of uncertainty are also the beginning times of adventure. Within the legend, he emphasizes the Trojans dedication to education, industry, determination and willingness to change. He also points out the way the Trojans responded to the challenge of adjusting to fate when it was determined that it was time for Troy to fall. They boarded their boats, set sail into unknown waters, braved the storms and challenges that beset them and finally reached the shores of Italy and founded the city-nation of Rome. Thus, they became world-changers who brought about significant world change. He draws numerous parallels between this story and the college. He illustrates how the college has been a leader of thought and athletics that characterized the Trojan society of antiquity. The college’s participation within the community proves its similarities to the responsibility and leadership of their namesake. He particularly emphasizes the idea that this period of history is a similar time of disruptive change as was experienced by the original Trojans. It is a time when the traditional structures of the university must be abandoned just like the city of Troy had to be abandoned and a new way must be adopted. From this logical base, he then moves forward to outline the various ways in which the university can change to meet the changing demands of the 21st century community, making itself the heart and center of cultural change and adaptation in the spirit of Rome. This list is very clearly outlined, offering concrete steps the university can take to expand its outreach, provide more useful education and maintain its reputation for excellence in the years to come. From this position of strength, USC students would be in the most ideal position to take advantage of changes as they arrive, fully equipped to adapt with the changing technologies and well-adapted to working with the greater community for the benefit of all. Throughout his speech, Dr. Nikias continues to use ethos, pathos and logos to convince his audience that sweeping change and innovative approaches are necessary to take the university into a strong position in the future. Perhaps because this speech is given by a university president to a university audience that normally prizes logic and reasoning over other forms of expression, the speech is dominated by logos. This occurs as Dr. Nikias continuously draws parallels between his interpretation of Virgil’s Aeneus and its messages and the situation of the university in the highly flexible and unpredictable world we find ourselves in today. However, pathos continues to weave its thread throughout his speech as he becomes animated by an idea, draws upon latent hopes for achieving the American Dream and acknowledges fears regarding the foggy context of what the future may bring. Ethos also continues to be woven through the speech as Dr. Nikias offers up his own interpretations as an insider and an outsider to the various ideas he is presenting. In the end, he uses a strong pathos appeal to his audience’s fears of being left behind and hopes for achieving grand success by soothing and promising them change based on very strong logical analysis (logos) and ample experience (ethos). Works Cited Edlund, Dr. John R. “Ethos, Logos, Pathos: Three Ways to Persuade.” Cal Poly Pomona, 2003. http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jgarret/3waypers.htm Nikias, Dr. C.L. Max. “Inauguration Speech: ‘The Destined Reign of Troy.’” YouTube, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1w_8aXO2tk Read More