Ethos
A Greek term for character and persuasive credibility.
Ethos comes from a Greek term for "character." It refers to the core beliefs or ideals that define a group—whether a community, a nation, or an ideology—and also captures a certain balance between being cautious and being passionate. The ancient Greeks applied the same word to music's ability to shape how people feel, act, and even judge right from wrong; the early myths about Orpheus illustrate this idea vividly. In the study of persuasion, ethos is one of three main strategies for convincing an audience, sitting alongside pathos and logos. This framework comes from Aristotle, who used it to explain how speakers build credibility. Ethos either gives credit to the speaker or allows the speaker to claim credit.
- Origin
- Greek
- Original meaning
- accustomed place, custom, habit
- Root word
- ethikos (ἠθικός), meaning morality, showing moral character
- Field
- rhetoric, philosophy, ethics
- Key thinker
- Aristotle
- Associated concepts
- phronesis, arete, eunoia
Lore & Background
Ethos (ἦθος, ἔθος; plurals: ethe, ἤθη; ethea, ἤθεα) originally meant "accustomed place" (as in "the habitats of horses" in the Iliad) and "custom, habit," equivalent to Latin mores. It forms the root of ethikos (ἠθικός), meaning "morality, showing moral character." In modern usage, ethos denotes the disposition, character, or fundamental values peculiar to a specific person, people, organization, culture, or movement. For example, T. S. Eliot wrote in 1940 that "the general ethos of the people they have to govern determines the behavior of politicians," and historian Orlando Figes wrote in 1996 that in Soviet Russia of the 1920s "the ethos of the Communist party dominated every aspect of public life." Ethos may change in response to new ideas or forces, as when ideas of economic modernization imported into Palestine in the 1930s brought about "the abandonment of the agrarian ethos and the reception of...the ethos of rapid development."
Reader's Guide
In rhetoric, ethos (credibility of the speaker) is one of the three artistic proofs or modes of persuasion discussed by Aristotle in 'Rhetoric' as a component of argument. Speakers must establish ethos from the start, which can involve "moral competence" only; Aristotle broadens the concept to include expertise and knowledge. According to Aristotle, there are three categories of ethos: phronesis (useful skills and practical wisdom), arete (virtue, goodwill), and eunoia (goodwill towards the audience). In a sense, ethos does not belong to the speaker but to the audience, and it is the audience that determines whether a speaker is high- or low-ethos. Violations of ethos include the speaker having a direct interest in the outcome, a vested interest or ulterior motive, or no expertise. Completely dismissing an argument based on any of these violations is an informal fallacy (appeal to motive). Modern interpretations, including those by feminist rhetorical theorists, have offered ways of conceiving of ethos influenced by postmodern concepts of identity, viewing ethos as fluid and dynamic, negotiated between private experience and public rhetorical act.
Did You Know?
- The word ethos originally meant 'accustomed place' in Greek, as in 'the habitats of horses' in the Iliad.
- Aristotle identified three categories of ethos: phronesis, arete, and eunoia.
- Ethos may change in response to new ideas or forces, such as the abandonment of an agrarian ethos for a rapid development ethos in 1930s Palestine.
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