Rhetoric and Persuasion: Aristotle: ethos, pathos, logos — Ethos and the Speaker's Credibility
How speakers earn trust: Aristotle's ethos, its three ingredients, and what modern research adds about credibility.
Try 3 questions
1. In Aristotle's Rhetoric, what does ethos persuade through?
- The speaker's perceived character
- The argument's logical structure
- The audience's emotional state
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Answer: The speaker's perceived character
Aristotle defines ethos as proof residing in the speaker's character as shown in the speech, which makes the speaker seem worthy of belief.
2. Aristotle names three qualities that make a speaker credible. Which set is it?
- Practical wisdom, virtue and goodwill
- Expertise, confidence and charm
- Fame, wealth and eloquence
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Answer: Practical wisdom, virtue and goodwill
Aristotle lists phronesis (practical wisdom), arete (virtue) and eunoia (goodwill); a speaker seen to have all three is trusted.
3. According to Aristotle, where should a speaker's ethos mainly be produced?
- Through the speaker's social rank
- Through what is said in the speech itself
- Through the speaker's prior reputation
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Answer: Through what is said in the speech itself
Aristotle insists this kind of persuasion should come from the speech, not from what people already thought of the speaker beforehand.
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