Pathos

How our society has evolved to define fair, accurate and principled rhetoric has made it more than acceptable to employ extensive emotional appeals. Despite whether we agree or disagree to the extent our society is addicted to emotions, as a collective we continue to accept our current rhetorical climate. To answer whether we are pushing the boundary I would have to respond that I know less what would constitute unacceptable pathos than do I know there exist limitations.

Drama is the fuel life runs on, filling us with stimulation and entertainment. We are overwhelmed by intense emotional messages because regardless of our intentions we respond to it. The important question to ask is not “are we exceeding some limit?” but “is it in our best interests to be easily influenced by emotion?” I think there are two really important truths to keep in mind when answering this question. The first is not forgetting that emotions are woven into our DNA. We have evolved to be emotionally responsive creatures most likely because it has been to our advantage throughout thousands of years of evolution. The other is the implicit nature of emotion. Unlike logos or ethos, pathos doesn’t require metacognitive thought processing.

Every day it seems I am surprised by some sort of emotional ploy whether it be on television in the media, or from peers because it makes us think, feel and act irrespective to logic or ethics. In addition to not being a balanced rhetorical situation our excessive reliance on pathos further subtracts from our ethical and logical capacity. I would agree that we are currently in a period of heightened emotion and I believe this can be to our advantage. If it requires an unprecedented emotional climate to make people be less dependent and responsive to pathos then so be it. I also believe it’s this kind of rhetorical climate that could be used to usher in one of the most progressive times of our society’s history. With heightened emotion comes increased interest, outraged debate, and motivation which are all necessary to make change. It is also the key to shifting the rhetorical balance should it be considered in our best interests.