Through and the day and over the year, we are constantly required to form beliefs, solve problems, make decisions and to act. What is it that guides each of these processes? How do we decide what or whom to believe, what determines our formulating solutions to problems or making decisions, and what are the guiding variables that determine what action to take or not to take?
At the root is the process of being persuaded to a belief, a solution, a decision, or the move to act.We accept a belief, solution of a decision, or move to act once we are persuaded that it is the right thing for us to do. And how do get persuaded that something is right or wrong?According to Aristotle, there are three principal ways of persuading anyone:
By the application of logic, credibility, or rhetoric (In greek this is Logos, Ethos, and Pathos). In simple English - this is logical reasoning, our assessment of how trustworthy or believable is the claim or the source of the claim, and how moved or convinced are we by the appeals to our emotions (Rhetoric is the art of using language to manipulate/'appeal to' our emotions).
I believe that Aristotle and subsequent writers have failed to point out one more important dimension that human beings use to form beliefs or make decisions. The fourth pillar represents our Ethics or moral value system - which could be derived from our religion, upbringing, the society we live in, or the ethical principles drawn up for us by our employers or a synthesis of all of them.
In simple language what would these four pillars of persuasion be?
Logic - by making a logical case for a belief or course of action. We examine the claim or call to action, look at the reasoning and evidence offered to back the claim, apply our logical reasoning to it, and then decide whether the claim or call to action is logical.
Ethos - By adopting a belief propagated by someone in authority (moral or legal, professional, religious etc): We believe what doctors tell us about diagnosis of a disease, or what scientists tell us about how the world works etc. We believe their claims without necessarily understanding their reasons for the belief and without any offer of proof for their beliefs.
Rhetoric - Persuade by artful use of language that is emotionally charged. A typical ruse would be to use rhetorical devices such as Euphemisms,
Dysphemisms, Slanters Downplayers, rhetorical definitions, etc. For example, using a rhetorical definition for 'abortion as murder of an unborn baby' inflames our emotions and prevents us from thinking logically. Similarly calling a torture technique of simulating drowning as 'waterboarding' makes something grotesque and inhuman sound harmless.
Ethics: In many cases, our beliefs and actions are guided purely by our value systems which need no logic or any other form of persuasion. We do not cheat someone for financial gain even if we know for sure we won't get caught because of our value system that cheating is wrong. And that is why many of us choose not to lie even if there is no risk of our lies being discovered. We don't lie because we consider it to be unethical.
Logic and ethics should be our only guides to action. But often we are persuaded by rhetoric to act in a manner that is not logical or ethical or both. In life and at work sometimes we make decisions based on our personal value systems (personal morals or ethics), without recognizing that different societies may have different views on what constitutes morality or ethics. In India, many communities believe sex before marriage to be immoral. But in the West, sex before marriage is normal. Similarly, some people consider killing animals for food is immoral, while others consider it to be perfectly ethical.
Learning about these four pillars helps us clearly identify what is guiding our beliefs or actions, resulting in better reasoned decisions and an examined belief system.
