Blog 4

The readings this week focused on ethos. Ethos, to me is the most important realm of rhetoric. It explores the credibility of the speaker. It was always explained to me to be the "ethics" of the writer, but that isn't the most helpful definition in my opinion. It seems to me that ethos can make or break an argument. One can "prove" as much as he wants through the use of logos, and can appeal to the emotions of an audience by using heartfelt stories and appeals which tug at the heart strings - but without any credibility, an audience is not going to be easily fooled. Audiences want to believe speakers and they want to why they should believe the speaker. You can prove a point all you want, but until your audience has a reason to believe you, your argument is completely pointless.