Pathos is a powerful rhetorical device because emotions can often be far stronger than facts. If you were to hear on the news, "There was a fatal car crash on 86th Street caused by a drunk driver," it would probably not induce the same feelings as, "A wife and mother of two was killed in a crash because of a drunk driver." The latter would make you feel the need to prevent drunk driving more strongly because it has caught your sympathies.
Most people see raw facts as boring and will often skim over them. By connecting to pathos, the person presenting the argument draws the reader in and allows him to be more deeply engaged in the argument. The reader has a reason to become involved with the writer because he feels a connection. Connecting to pathos encourages the reader to think more deeply about what is being said in the argument, which is more effective in cooperative inquiry. The reader will form his or her own opinions based of what he has read. It also is beneficial if trying to pursuade the reader to seeing your side of the argument because he will sympathize with your views.
1 comment:
I completely agree with what you are saying in the beginning. The latter of the two statements gets a much stronger reaction. I don't know though if it's really facts vs. emotional evidence. I think it's more what facts you decide to use that will pull at someone's emotions. It would all technically be fact, just some more exaggerated or elongated for a stronger reaction from the reader.
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