Question

What is the meaning of ethos

Answer 1

Meaning of ethos:

Aristotle’s Rhetoric talks about the art of persuasion to influence the judgements of the listeners. One among the three modes of persuasion that may be adopted by a speaker is ‘ethos’. The other two are ‘pathos’ and ‘logos’. ‘Ethos‘ refers to the character of the speaker and is considered to be of supreme value among the three.

To persuade the listener, the persona of the speaker is of utmost importance. His character should be believable and this aim is achieved through verbal and paraverbal factors.

Verbal factors include vocabulary and language as a whole that he uses to appeal to the listener and paraverbal factors include the inflection and tone of speech, pauses and emphasis.  If the character of the speaker appeals to the listeners, it makes it easier for him to make them see eye to eye.