Unit 1: Post 2 (January 15, 2009)

Well, there are many different arguments that confront us on many levels. These appeal to whatever the people think they can use to win us over, whether that be through our emotions, logic, or ethics. The most common thing that always affects me is the emotional appeal. Once I feel the pull on my heart, it's very hard not to commit to whatever the charity is.

One such pathos argument that I recently saw involved the ASPCA, essentially the protective force for animals like dogs and cats. The entire commercial showed all these animals in delapidated states; a dog was missing his eye and another was so emaciated, the bones of his ribs were clearly visible. The whole while you are watching these sad, pitiful animals, there is "Arms of an Angel" (not sure if that's what it's really called) by Sarah McLachlan playing in the background. That song by itself is often enough to get me teary-eyed. I have to say that it was a very potent combination and had me wanting to pick up my phone and call the number. Especially when they say that it only costs "pennies a day" or some such small amount of money. The listener can't help but think of the coffee that they could do without once a week to support this worthy cause...

The majority of arguments that are made on this pathos appeal also involve parts of ethos and logos. For instance, the ASPCA commercial I was just describing was stating all of these statistics to appeal to those of us who require some logic before we act on anything. The fact that the ASPCA is a well-known force that has its own officers, who starred in "Animal Precint" on Animal Planet, gives the commercial both authority and credibility to form an ethos appeal. The fact that Sarah McLachlan speaks as well, appealing people to donate, lends as well to an ethos appeal.