Aristotle's Use Of Ethos Pathos And Kairos

Reading Response 1

When confronting issues of masculinity, one must defend their ideologic view of how a man should act in society. Certain types of appeals, created by the greek philosopher Aristotle, are most likely to prove the general efficacy of the defendant’s argument. These appeals include logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos. To consider which of these appeals is the most effective for proving demonstrable qualities of masculinity, one must take into consideration the time the argument is being presented. The timeliness of the argument can be directly paralleled to the appeal kairos. According to Writing Arguments, on page 111, the appeal of kairos, “ is to be attuned to the total context of a situation in order to act in the right
For example, in the early 1900’s, immigrant Jews in the United States were not admitted into universities due to racial discrimination. Jews then found alternate routes, like boxing, to make money and become successful. Most conventional methods of judging masculinity can have inherent biases and are based off the idea of being a white, middle class American. So, a middle class American in 2016 arguing that boxing proves his masculinity must consider his audience and the correct context of his argument. If his audience was older, they could have contrasting views of masculinity in reference to boxing. Without considering the historical context and the timeliness that an argument is presented, the validity of the argument can be questioned. Another example of why the timeliness of an argument being presented is important is the arbitrary nature of the qualities of masculinity. Society can switch the values it places on masculinity which makes kairos so important. For instance, in the 2000’s men wore long, baggy jeans, which indirectly defined their masculinity. But, now men wear tighter jeans, and cuff them at the bottom. A man from the 2000’s would