Definition:
In classical rhetoric, proofs from character that are created by a rhetor or are available by virtue of the rhetor's position on an issue.
See also:
Observations:
- "[There is persuasion] through character whenever the speech is spoken in such a way as to make the speaker worthy of credence; for we believe fair-minded people to greater extent and more quickly [than we do others] on all subjects in general and completely so in cases where there is not exact knowledge but room for doubt. And this should result from the speech, not from a previous opinion that the speaker is a certain kind of person."
(Aristotle, Rhetoric) - "Treated as an aspect of rhetoric, Aristotelian [invented] ethos presumes that human nature is knowable, reducible to a range of types, and manipulable by discourse."
(James S. Baumlin, "Ethos," The Encyclopedia of Rhetoric, ed. by Thomas O. Sloane. Oxford Univ. Press, 2001) - "So much is done by good taste and style in speaking that the speech seems to depict the speaker's character."
(Cicero) - "Today we may feel uncomfortable with the notion that rhetorical character can be constructed, since we tend to think of character, or personality, as fairly stable. We generally assume as well that character is shaped by an individual's experiences. The ancient Greeks, in contrast, thought that character was constructed not by what happened to people but by the moral practices in which they habitually engaged. An ethos was not finally given by nature, but was developed by habit."
(Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee, Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, 3rd ed. Pearson, 2004)
