Speeches are made to persuade. In Rhetoric, Aristotle maintains that there are three kinds of persuasive appeals: Logos; Pathos; Ethos. Logos has to do with appeals to the reason of the audience. Pathos appeals to the emotions of the audience. Ethos is appeal based on the speaker’s character. Such kinds of appeals are “internal arguments” that help a speaker persuade his audience of the validity of what is being said (Synopsis 1). Logos, Pathos and Ethos are also known as artistic proofs that, according to Simmons, “provide resources of communication that are available to the public speaker or persuader” (48). If we look at a speech by a former U.S. president, we see how effective these artistic proofs can be in persuading an audience.
On January 28th, 1986, then President Ronald Reagan delivered one of the most lauded speeches of his career. The speech was in response to what was viewed as a national tragedy, the Challenger disaster. In the speech, Reagan masterfully combines the use of logos, pathos and ethos in a highly effective and appealing manner. There are eight paragraphs in the speech. In the first paragraph Reagan uses pathos when discussing the pain of the event. He also demonstrates character by including his wife, the First Lady, in his sentiments, “Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenge” (Reagan 1).
In the second paragraph Reagan discusses the tragedy in a way that uses pathos and logos. He uses logos when he informs us the astronauts knew of the risk but accepted it anyway, “The Challenger Seven were aware of the dangers but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly” (Reagan 1). He also appeals to the audience’s emotions when he reminds us of the character of the dead astronauts, “Perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took” (Reagan 1).
In the third paragraph Reagan relies heavily on the u
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