logos

Logos names the appeal to reason. Aristotle wished that all communication could be transacted only through this appeal, but given the weaknesses of humanity, he laments, we must resort to the use of the other two appeals. The Greek term logos is laden with many more meanings than simply "reason," and is in fact the term used for "oration." Sample Rhetorical Analysis: LOGOS When Descartes said, "I think; therefore, I am," his statement reflected in its pure concision and simple logical arrangment the kind of thought and being he believed to be most real. He did not claim, as Pascal would later do, that our being has as much to do with feeling as it does thinking. Descartes here equates pure rationality and pure being, persuading us of the accuracy of this equation by the simplicity of his statement. There is no room for the clouds of emotion in this straightforward formula; it makes a purely logical appeal. See Also Figures of Reasoning Topics of Invention All of the topics of invention are considered ways of providing logical support for arguments, thus enhancing the appeal to reason, or logos. Sources: Arist.1.2.6, 2.18-26

Previous Tree | SILVA RHETORICAE | Next Tree Enter | Search the Forest This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Gideon O. Burton, Brigham Young University Please cite "Silva Rhetoricae" (rhetoric.byu.edu)