Examples Of Ethos Pathos Logos

In many of life’s decisions, what a person truly chooses between is whether to listen to the emotions of the heart or the logic of the head. In any argument, the outcome depends on whether or not the speaker can effectively appeal to one’s emotions, logic, or sense of ethics. That appeal is also known as pathos, logos, or ethos. Three examples of these appeals can be found in The Norton Mix, in the essays “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady, “A Proposal to Abolish Grading” by Paul Goodman, and Michael Levin’s “The Case for Torture”. Brady’s essay showcases pathos, Goodman’s appeal is to logic, and “The Case for Torture” shows an appeal to ethics. Brady writes a satiric essay about the stereotypes of married life, showcasing what a man should ‘expect’ from his wife. Through her use of emotions, she shows just how imbalanced and absurd

He uses logos to give a solid logical ground in his examination of why grading should be abolished, and the system that should be instated to take the place of the grades that oppress. Speaking of the tests that Harvard and other institutes of higher education use for admission purposes, he says “Presumably, these college-entrance tests are tailored for what Harvard and similar institutions want. By the same logic, would not an employer do far better to apply his own job aptitude test rather than to rely on the vagaries of Harvard section-men?” (Par 5). By applying logic, he makes a compelling argument for the abolishment of ‘universal’ testing, to be replaced by job-specific criteria. He goes on to speak about how the ‘superiors’ of society limit success by grading, saying “But I submit that this set-up itself makes it impossible for the student to become the master, to have grown up, and to commence on his own. He will always be making A or B for some overseer” (Par 7). He uses an appeal to logic to show how and why the system doesn’t work, and how and why we should replace