Emotion in Public Discourse

Posted by Ron B'Jergendy | Posted in

When making a point, using emotion is a temping way to try and persuade the audience. Playing with people's fears, wants, and past experiences is an easy way to convince an audience of things that they may not truly believe or that are really true. In politics or any public discourse, the use, and abuse of pathos, are common. The question for this assignment is to examine if pathos plays to much of a role in public discourse. In my opinion, it is a necessary evil in our discourse. With the rush-rush world we live in, most people do not have the time to stop and think about politics and their opinions on larger decisions. By using emotional appeals, journalist and television personalities get people involved in issues they would normally not. Even though the tactics they use skew and distort their opinions, the audience will eventually come to their own conclusions. In my opinion, the pathos used in public discourse is necessary so that people stay interested in the topics they discuss.

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