More Options To Your Disposal

After completing chapter four of Thank You For Arguing I have now achieve greater skills in persuasion. Even though it's as basic and domestic in life, increase in knowledge of utility never hurts. When persuading, people often use emotions and facts to get what they want or to prove a point. Now Heinrichs shows us how to use character, emotions, and logic to help achieve more successfully what you're aiming. Aristotle's three elements: ethos (character), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic) are all crucial for arguing. "Logos: Argument by logic. The first logical tactic we covered was concession, using the opponent's argument to your own advantage. Pathos: Argument by emotion. The most important pathetic tactic is sympathy, registering concern for your audience's emotions and then changing the mood to suit your argument. Ethos: argument by character. Aristotle called this the most important appeal of all - even more than logos." (Heinrichs 45). It is incredible how the use of each one of these tools shift the argument toward your side.

Family Guy is very famous for its satire and humor making it very enjoyable to watch. Occasionally it includes forms of rhetoric such as the ones described by Heinrichs. When I was browsing some videos on youtube, I came across this deleted scene from Family Guy. While laughing out loud, I could identify Aristotle's forms of rhetoric: ethos, pathos, and logos. Twenty seconds into the video we can start identifying forms of rhetoric. The lead seagull is trying to prove the other seagull's point of being able to be independent by showing how hunting is impossible with "webbed feet." He uses logos by identifying that seagulls are different from hawks who have claws. He also uses pathos when using logos by intimidating the other seagull by asking is he  "was going to club a field mouse to death." Last but not least the use of ethos comes at the end when the other seagull tries to explain he was thinking and the leader counters by asking him if that was the best choice. There he questions the other's wittiness and trustworthiness. The leader wins by using all three forms of rhetoric. It seems that even children and animals are capable of persuading.