Logos is MY BOY!

I'll tell you what. Show me an argument, and I will find my way to the bottom of it as fast as I can. Normally, I don't have time for the emotional plea that is the forefront of most argument points. Those are to be regarded as dangerous or deceptive. I will not lie; when I write or verbally argue I WILL employ such means (ethos, pathos, etc). I find playing to emotion will work very well. However, for myself I regard my intellect as superior as to be swayed by emotion in any circumstance.

Emotion is such a volatile component of argument. I use the term 'dangerous' because it is. Emotions can tend to get away from people. This can lead to unforeseen and tragic consequences. Without a doubt, it can also lead to a state of bliss or unbridled passion for a cause, person, etc. For myself, I prefer to look at an argument and sift through the images that rise above what the article is really about. For instance, when talking about national tragedy in a country a reporter will sometimes focus on a single young child, alone and in the dark. An image like that is powerful and can garner powerful support. I try and taper that and focus on the scope of what really happened.

In class the other day my professor was breaking down a simple argument that a husband and wife may have over the purchase of a car. They start with their claims and eventually one can break those down to reasons and the base warrant of the entire argument: the value they placed on... whatever. It made me think of when my spouse and I have similar arguments. We almost always go straight for the base and try to figure out why that is important. This actually helps us learn more about each other.

That is why logos is my boy. I prefer the root of the argument, the meat, the main crux of the issue. I like framing my own arguments with the emotional tone, honing in onmy victims psyche with my carefully positioned reason. But for myself, I prefer what lies beneath the argument and what the author is trying to sell me. But I've written too long this morning, I gotta go mail my payment to support my child in Djibouti so he doesn't get eaten by tsetse flies.