Rhetorical Appeals and Logical Fallacies by https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j Notes about ethos, logos, pathos, and some logical fallacies. Created for Skatrud’s Public Speaking class en-us 2016-10-05 18:03:49 UTC 2025-09-25 04:57:11 UTC hello@padlet.com Ethos 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128593940 Appeal to ethics]]> 2016-10-05 18:09:14 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128593940 Pathos 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128594489 Appeal to emotion]]> 2016-10-05 18:10:39 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128594489 Logos 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128595427 Appeal to logic]]> 2016-10-05 18:12:57 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128595427 Hasty Generalization 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128596111 A reaction to a subject before knowing all the information.
Ex: My father smoked four packs of cigarettes a day since age fourteen and lived until age sixty-nine.  Therefore, smoking really can’t be that bad for you.
Explanation: It is extremely unreasonable (and dangerous) to draw a universal conclusion about the health risks of smoking by the case study of one man.]]> 2016-10-05 18:14:41 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128596111 Post Hoc 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128597201 Assuming something happened because of an event earlier only because it happened first.
Ex: Since I was born in Brookfield that's why I am winning coolest guy now.
Explanation: The assumption that since I was born in Brookfield I am cool now.]]> 2016-10-05 18:17:06 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128597201 Ad Hominem 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128598009 Attacking someone instead of their argument.
Ex: My opponent suggests that lowering taxes will be a good idea -- this is coming from a woman who eats a pint of Ben and Jerry’s each night!
Explanation: The fact that the woman loves her ice cream, has nothing to do with the lowering of taxes, and therefore, is irrelevant to the argument. Ad hominem attacks are usually made out of desperation when one cannot find a decent counter argument.]]> 2016-10-05 18:18:38 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128598009 Strawman 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128598542 Distort someones position on a stance.
Ex: Ted: Biological evolution is both a theory and a fact.
Edwin: That is ridiculous!  How can you possibly be absolutely certain that we evolved from pond scum!
Ted: Actually that is a gross misrepresentation of my assertion.  I never claimed we evolved from pond scum.  Unlike math and logic, science is based on empirical evidence and, therefore, a scientific fact is something that is confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional consent.  The empirical evidence for the fact that biological evolution does occur falls into this category.
Explanation: Edwin has ignorantly characterized the argument by a) assuming we evolved from pond scum (whatever that is exactly), and b) assuming “fact” means “certainty”.
]]> 2016-10-05 18:19:41 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128598542 Appeal to Authority 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128599164  It is argued that something is true, because someone of authority (like an expert) says it is true.
Ex: My 5th grade teacher once told me that girls will go crazy for boys if they learn how to dance.  Therefore, if you want to make the ladies go crazy for you, learn to dance.
Explanation: Even if the 5th grade teacher were an expert on relationships, her belief about what makes girls “go crazy” for boys is speculative, or perhaps circumstantial, at best.]]> 2016-10-05 18:20:51 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128599164 Red Herring 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128599850 An irrelevant topic introduced in an argument to divert the attention of listeners or readers from the original issue.
Ex: Mike: It is morally wrong to cheat on your spouse, why on earth would you have done that?
Ken: But what is morality exactly?
Mike: It’s a code of conduct shared by cultures.
Ken: But who creates this code?...
Explanation:  Ken has successfully derailed this conversation off of his sexual digressions to the deep, existential, discussion on morality.

]]> 2016-10-05 18:22:19 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128599850 Appeal to Pity 17aslinm https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128601098 Distract from the truth with pity.
Ex: I really deserve an “A” on this paper, professor.  Not only did I study during my grandmother’s funeral, I also passed up the heart transplant surgery, even though that was the first matching donor in 3 years.
Explanation:  The student deserves an “A” for effort and dedication but, unfortunately, papers are not graded that way.  The fact that we should pity her has nothing to do with the quality of the paper written, and if we were to adjust the grade because of the sob stories, we would have fallen victim to the appeal to pity.]]> 2016-10-05 18:24:46 UTC https://padlet.com/17aslinm/x6cjnctm6l7j/wish/128601098