Pathos

Eli Pardue
9/17/07
AP Lang. Comp.
LaMags

Pathos is a powerful rhetorical device…

Pathos is a term referring to some aspect of an argument that sparks the emotions of the audience, and makes them relate to the desired side of the argument. It is used specifically to makes the audience sympathize with that side through the experiences of the audience, and how those past experiences relate to the argument, therefore sparking sympathy. Or, pathos could be used to play with the morals of the audience, as Michael Levin did in “A Case For Torture." An example from that essay is whether you would advocate the use of torture to gain information about missing babies (and no one sane wants babies to die).
Pathos is a powerful rhetoric device because it plays with the audience’s emotions to help them accept a particular side of an argument. A writer must be careful when injecting pathos into an argument because if they appeal to the wrong emotions, then an audience can become less inclined to that side of the argument. It is difficult to lose support about torture when talking about babies dieing, but if you are talking about political parties, which today can be a precarious ledge to balance on when trying to remain neutral, it can be much more difficult to remain neutral or attract the correct party. There is also a fine line between democrat and republican as liberality becomes more and more accepted.