Logos Logos The authors ability to reveal logic

Logos

Logos • The author's ability to reveal logic and reason in the text

Logos • For readers: • Note the claims the author makes, the exigency. • Note the data the author provides in support of the claims. • Note the conclusions the author draws. • For writers: • Have I established the purpose for my text, and have I utilized the most effective genre? • Have I established a clear, reasonable, and logical progression of my ideas? • Have I addressed opposing arguments or perspectives?

Not just words - Providing hard evidence • Arguments based on facts and testimony (grounded in reasoning) • Aristotle claims that all arguments can be reduced to just two components: • Statement + Proof • In other words: • Claim + Supporting evidence

Supporting Evidence • Facts • Statistics • Surveys and Polls • Testimonies

Facts • Something that actually exists: reality and truth. • Precedent - Something known to exist or to have happened Landing on the moon. • A truth known by actual experience or observation – scientific research. • Scrutinize any facts you collect, test their reliability, and admit any problems at the start.

Statistics – The numerical data • Be careful – “figures lie and liars figure” – even when numbers are accurate, they need to be interpreted by the writers and readers. • Evaluate writer’s agenda that shape their interpretations.

Surveys and Polls • A gathering of a sample of data or opinions considered to be representative of a whole. • Surveys and polls are the most common and influential form of statistics. • When evaluating special attention need to be paid to the authorship, recency, survey design, sample, and margin of error. • Make sure you are using reputable surveying agencies – News agencies, academic institution, government bodies, etc. • Election polls, census, academic research, etc. • Again, pay special attention to the authorship, for credibility of survey or polls.

Testimonies • Something said to be true or supposed to have happened. • The facts given by the witness are often highly questionable. • Evidence given by a witness, especially orally in court under oath or affirmation. • More trustworthy due to threat of perjury. • Personal experience carefully reported.

Cultural assumptions and values • Writers and readers need to understand the cultural assumptions held by their audiences. • How do collective and individualistic cultures hold different family values? • Cooperation and community or individualism. • Should be open to interpretations based on cultural assumptions – e. g affirmative action as perceived by African Americans and Caucasians. • Be fair in interpretation by incorporating cultural assumption in analysis.

Logical structure for Argument • Degree • a stage or point in or as if in progression or retrogression • a stage in a scale of intensity or amount • Analogies • a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: the analogy between the heart and a pump. • Precedent • any act, decision, or case that serves as a guide or justification for subsequent situations.