Pathos Over Logos?

Essay
Liah Beaver

People are exposed to different methods of persuasion every day. Among the different methods,
Pathos and Logos are some of the most effective. However, people seem to be more persuaded by
Pathos, the appeal to emotion, rather than Logos, the appeal to logic and common sense. People are
more often persuaded by Pathos (as opposed to Logos) because human emotions are a more natural
response and often dictate how people make decisions.
The emotional appeal that Pathos has a tremendous impact on humans' decision making. Every
person feels emotion, which makes Pathos universally effective. Humans often make choices based on
their ut feeling.A specific choice may not even contain any logic at all, but that ut feelingwill
always serve as a valid reason to pick that choice. The old saying ove is blindis a perfect example of
this because a woman or man will, not using any logic or common sense at all, fling themselves blindly
into a situation that may not be good for them. All because they are responding to their emotions.
Every person naturally responds emotionally to everything in their life, whether they respond
consciously or not. People's feelings connect them directly and intimately with everything around them,
making Pathos the perfect persuasive technique. Logos does not have compassion or sympathy, but
Pathos certainly does. Pathos provides a connection, a link, to situations that Logos cannot.
People respond more readily to Pathos rather than Logos because they are naturally gifted with the
ability to feel. How a person feels can affect how they respond to things in every day life. Despite the
logical reasoning behind Logos, Pathos will always be more effective.