Doing What it Takes

Ethos, pathos and logos, the Aristotelian tools or argumentation, are three great powers equal in strength. The key for success is to learn how to use them effectively and, more importantly, when to use each one of them. Depending on the circumstances, it might be most useful to put all the weight of your argument on or two of these tools and maybe, omit the third. Also, it can be convenient to make transitions that will let you fight your war on three fronts. One option to do this is via quick adjustments as part of an intervention in a debate. President Barack Obama, an excellent orator, frequently hops between ethos, pathos, and logos. In the third 2012 presidential debate, being accused by contender Mitt Romney of neglecting allies in the Middle East, Obama effectively did a transition from logos to pathos by saying that when he had gone to Israel, the first thing that he did was to visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Switching between the three tools can also be done systematically through long periods. In this case, the argumentator changes his methods in response to changes in the audience. An example of this can be seen in the Catholic Church in Colombia. Some decades ago, the church relied almost completely on ethos. Obviously there was still logos in religious scholars and pathos in hell threats, but the religious institution mainly relied on ethos. People attended mass in Latin, with a preacher that was standing opposite to them. How could this be anything but what Jay Heinrichs says of ethos: “argument by character”.

Now, when you see the Catholic Church in its maximum effectiveness, it is by performing “miraculous healings” and having tele-curas
vividly preaching in front of thousands. The reason behind this change in the Catholic Church is that Colombia, once a solid Catholic monopoly, has opened its doors to a set of new religions. This new competition, especially in the form of Catholicism’s more modern cousin Protestantism, has forced the church to change up their game.

I like what has happened to religion in Colombia. Being a Capitalist and an Agnostic, I am all for competition and a wealth of options.