Rhetorical Elements Of Ethos Pathos And Logos

Exercise for the Brain

Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, thought that rhetoric allowed people to explain how their ideas connected to their audience’s experiences through the work of persuasion. Persuasion involves three different types of rhetorical elements. The messenger can use each of the three elements, ethos, pathos, and logos, to a certain degree to present the quality of the message. Aristotle described the three components as artistic proof because the speaker was able to create them and use them to a certain extent. In the TED talk, “The brain-changing benefits of exercise”, Wendy Suzuki, a professor of neural science and psychology at New York University, used these rhetorical elements to not only inform the audience about the long-term

One specific mode which the speaker demonstrated very well in the speech was the use of ethos. Ethos is the credibility of the speaker that comes from their intellectual, moral and social qualities. Their credibility depends on the occasion, topic, and the emotions imposed on the audience. Suzuki mentioned her career as a professor of neuroscience and expertise in “memory work” to show the audience that she is educated about the specific topic. Nonetheless, I believe that the speaker should have included more information regarding her profession such as what her research interest is so she could seem more knowledgeable. For instance, the speaker could have included that she is recognized for her research on the areas of the brain that are responsible for forming and retaining new memories instead of just saying that she is “known in her field for all the memory work”. This will allow the audience to assume that the speaker is familiar with the topic of brain plasticity, brain’s capacity to change over time, with more

Wendy Suzuki mentioned that exercising can increase the level of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline. This is one aspect where she was able to gain more credibility from other people such as students who have taken a psychology course before. However, I noticed that the speaker did not explain some scientific terms to the audience, so some of the content may seem vague to the audience unless they had some source of prior knowledge. Defining terms such as neurotransmitters will help the audience follow along better and increase the effectiveness of the persuasive process. Ultimately, the speaker’s credibility depends on the quality of the message, their reputation, and the audience’s perception of