Reflections
We talked this week about how important it is to reflect upon our thoughts and actions as we move throughout life. Not only is this a paramount skill (in terms of how some gauge success), but it also helps to create a deeper understanding of an issue. I would encourage you to reflect upon any given day, or any given week, and if you are willing - share it with the class. Your peers are probably going through the same trials as you are, and your perspective might help to build a meaningful connection with a classmate. If you would like to submit a reflection, as I will do here as well, simply click on the comment section. This exercise can work the same as a discussion response and can be used to accentuate your participation in the class in a similar way.
posted by D. Robin @ 8/27/2006
4 comments
4 Comments:
My reflection is on todays discussion on the rhetorical triangle. I have a question, it's kind of an open ended question, but if you have an answer that's cool. Can you have good ethos without actually being ethical? Along the same lines, can you have bad ethos, but make ethical actions? Let me make use an example from class today. If someone finds a 100$ bill and wants to go to the police since they know it's the right thing to do, but their family is so poor that unless he takes it he knows they will not eat for the entire week. Does this person have bad ethos for taking it?
Here's another situation. A person finds 100$'s, this person wants the money, he feels he deserves to keep the money because he found it. This person is also a major people pleaser and loves getting attention. On the way home, with the 100$ in his pocket, this person decided to impress his english teacher, Mr. Robin, by taking it to the police. This person only turned the money to get bragging rights and not because he felt morally obligated to do so. This person did not turn the money in for ethical reasons. Does he have good ethos simply because he did turn the money in?
Just some food for thought.
By the way just in case there are other Kelsey's this is the one from 8th hour
Hi Kelsey! Your response made me think of Aladdin who needs to steal to eat - this is an example of situational ethics. While situational ethics are subjective, most people would choose to feed their family instead of the socially acceptable act of turning in the money... if we look at this specific example more carefully, we might reveal that this scenario doesn't appeal as strongly to ethos as it does to pathos. In fact, one will act in certain ways due to familial ties. While this is ethos, in part because the triangle is inseparable, these ties could be indicative of love, security, etc., which makes them appeal more to pathos (because it is more emotional than not).
The braggart, on the other hand, does suffer from poor ethos, not because of his act, but because of the intentions behind his act. This could be considered situational as well; however, he did know exactly what he was doing, and so his act was purposeful (even logical - I will improve if I do the right thing).
In response to today's lesson (8/30):
Wow. I haven't had a thought stimulating lesson since that of Mr. Phillips. Anyways, I've a bit to add about ethos as well. What if the person pcketed the $1oo bill but gave it to charity or a beggar? That would be still good ethos wouldn't it? It'd just be that of another kind. While I see the point in of a line graph to denote good and bad ethos, I don't think it's that simple. In math terms, ethos would be three variable calculus. THis would also fit with the triangle as one variable would be the logos, anther pathos and the third, the importance they put on ethos. Is there anyway to separate ethos away from the rest? As I see it, our ethos is derived from logos and pathos. We were taught values and ethics, and our belief in what people said and our fear of consequences developed our ethos.
When you start applying a topic towards everything else, you know someone does there job right. Nisha, Kristina and I meet in a study group for physics, and today, we were rhetorically analyzing Newton's third law. For every reaction, there is a reaction. I think you may have mentioned it when you were talking about purpose and exigence. We kept on taking it further, looking for pathos, ethos, and logos everywhere. Lately, it's become increasingly easy to spot things like that.
We have one person to thank for that.
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