Ethos

Ethos as discussed in chapter 6 is ethical proof, or ethos. Ethical proof is based on a person’s character and as the reading suggested, is either invented or situated. Though when we think of someone’s character as their traits based on personal experiences, this is not how things worked in ancient times. The reason is that “we tend to identify character with personality, and hence someone’s character is fairly stable” (Crowley 149). Though this is how people understand it today I found it interesting that in ancient time peoples character was based more on their moral values and practices. I asked myself which of these interpretations of one character lends to creating a greater ethical appeal to the audience.  On the one hand, using ones personality to determine their credit and ethical standing can be a useful method. However, this method usually involves situated ethical proofs, at least in the manner that I understood it. This is because a person’s personality is seen as mostly set and permanent. Whereas when character is determined based on ones practices it is ultimately more able to change and open to influence by the person.

When inventing ethos or a character a rhetor can do many things. The reading states that the speaker does not often know the people he is talking to and vice versa, thus he must sometimes invent ethos. He can create credibility with his character by “doing his homework” and proving that they understand the issue to the audience, also he can highlight his traits worthy of mentioning to gain ethical understanding and merit. Additionally, he can generate trust from his audience by providing them with the information they need without smothering them. In other words, avoid patronizing them and create a sense of an almost two way understanding of one another. By that I mean making the audience feel like they aren’t being treated like an audience but rather equals in the issue. When dealing with situated ethos audiences assumingly already know who the rhetor is in that they understand and usually accept their ethical appeal and credibility due to a usually preexisting social standing in the community or other such social structure.  

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.