Thesis Of Reasons In The Achievement Habit By Bernard Roth

Ethos is an appeal to ethics, which gives the author credibility to persuade their attended audience. For instance, both Lukianoff and Haidt give a little insight about who they are, “Greg Lukianoff is a constitutional lawyer and the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which defends free speech and academic freedom on campus, and has advocated for students and faculty involved in many of the incidents this article describes; Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who studies the American culture wars.” (Lukianoff and Haidt). Using this rhetorical strategy to start their argument off was a strong approach to persuading their attended audience because it provides credibility to the readers to prove to them that the authors know what they’re talking about and it makes the argument much more effective. Another example of ethos that the authors provide is, “Today, what we call the Socratic method is a way of teaching that fosters critical thinking, in part by encouraging students to question their own unexamined beliefs, as well as the received wisdom of those around them… But vindictive protectiveness teaches students to think in a very different way… A campus culture devoted to policing speech and punishing speakers is likely to engender patterns of thought that are surprisingly similar to those long identified by cognitive behavioral therapists as causes

Ethos is to convince someone of character or credibility of the persuader. It puts author

Ethos is a persuasive language that is an appeal to authority and credibility. President Richard Nixon uses ethos in “The Great Silent Majority” speech when he says “As president, I hold the responsibility for choosing the best path to that goal and leading the Nation along it”(Nixon). President Nixon is saying that by him being President, it is his job to put the whole nation on a good path. This fits the definition of ethos because when people hear Nixon say “As President,” they immediately feel a sense of credibility of what he is going to say. By President Nixon saying this makes the speech more

Ethos is known as credibility or ethical appeal. Ethos refers to the speakers’ character, as it would appeal to the audience. We tend to believe a person who we see as a credible

According to Alan G. Gross and Arthur E. Walzer, ethos is a type of ethical appeal establishing the speaker’s credibility or character and expertise as persuasive techniques (…). Throughout, Evicted Matthew Desmond employs ethos to gain and reinforce his knowledge and expertise on the subject, to prove his reliability as a

Ethos is basically the authors credibility, the reader must decide if the author of the writing is trustworthy and believable. Pathos is how to author appeals

Ethos, also known as credibility, is an ethical appeal the author or speaker uses, considering that, “we tend to believe people whom we respect”(Page 2). Martin Luther King Jr. uses Ethos when he says, “Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must…” Ethos was displayed here by demonstrating expertness and authority that Martin Luther King Jr. reached out for to refine the opinions of the clergyman. Although ethos is an influential literary device, because it portrays the attitude of the author, Pathos plays a big role in

Ethos is convincing someone of their credibility to the reader or persuader. Atticus uses many examples of ethos to help persuade the jury, using credibility, to show that Tom Robinson was convicted for charges he hasn't done. An example of ethos in his closing argument is “The defendant is not guilty. But somebody in this courtroom is.” Atticus is saying there is no proof against Tom, but Atticus along with the jury, may have a strong idea who it could be. Another example of ethos is “She must destroy the evidence of her offense. But, what was the evidence of her offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was to her daily reminder of what she did.” The evidence Mayella is using to put Tom away doesn't add up , and she's using him as a cover up so she wouldn't get in trouble for being in love with a black man. The jury's thoughts on Mayella and Tom may begin to change by Atticus’ use of

How to Speak How to Listen by Mortimer Adler discusses the best techniques to use while in an argument. According to Adler, ethos signifies one’s character. Ethos is present when one is trying to have a character that is fitting for the purpose at hand. Ethos includes making yourself attractive to the audience and proving to them that you are credible. An example of having ethos has a lot to do with how I would present myself to the audience. In order for them to believe that I am credible, I must look the part, that includes cleanliness, looking put together, and healthy. If the audience sees that you can take care of yourself, then they have a higher chance of believing that you can take care of them and their situation. Using ethos can also include presenting the audience with a personal story. This will fill them in with background information about myself and let them know how my character played out during whatever situation I spoke about. The situation would have to be similar to the one the audience is facing, in order for them to draw parallels and better understand how I would handle that particular event.

Everyone needs a reason to do anything, but there’s no logic behind every reason. The reason behind going to the grocery store, is to buy food so one doesn’t starve in the middle of the week. The reason behind a person going to the hair salon is to feel better about their personal image. The reason of going to the gas station is to fuel up a car with gasoline. Roth agrees with reasons controlling everything by saying “Our society loves reasons. Perhaps the illusions that there is a single known reason for each thing we do is comforting.” (Roth 41.)

Ethos appeals to ethics, and it’s a way of convincing someone about the credibility of the persuader. Whatever you read, whether it’s a news article, commercial, or a post on Instagram, you are evaluating the message for a sense of the character and the credibility of the sender. Our culture teaches us to be doubtful of these messages. Because of this, people strive to influence our opinions by building up their credibility.

First, I would like to start by talking about Zadie Smith’s use of ethos in her essay “Generation Why.” The first example is in the first paragraph. Smith starts off by establishing credibility right away and presenting herself as trustworthy. She states, "'I was there' at Facebook's inception, and remember Facemash and the fuss it caused." This statement made Smith's readers trust her because she was

Throughout high school, I was the kind of student that always did the bare minimum but knew that I could do better. I never did my homework, and I the only test I have ever studied for was my SAT because I knew that was my only option to get into this university. After reading this article, I realized that all I was doing was setting an “academic alienation goal” which meant I was choosing to perform tasks that required the minimum amount of effort, which is turn was just setting my up to fail, and even though it wasn’t really saying that I wanted to fail, that’s what I was doing.

Bernard Roth, a Professor at the d. school in California, has an impressively valid outlook as to why all reasons given are bullshit. Roth provides numerous examples of people who use regularly use excuses to get by in life; however, he also plays the devil’s advocate when stating that excuses may help you in the current situation but does it really help you at all in the long run. In the second chapter of his book, Roth classifies the use of excuses into several categories; ethically, logically, and emotionally. Although I understand Roth’s beliefs there are some areas I fundamentally disagree with. Such as, some excuses must be explained no matter what the circumstances were due to the fact that the reasoning is important. Roth would rebuttal by saying reasons have no meaning which in turn goes back to having no excuses. Roth utilizes an abundance of forms of thinking to emphasize his point. He explains to every student the three possible rationalizations for excuses. Once again he suggests every excuse is bullshit, and has no place in an individual’s life. These excuses are ultimately hampering an individual’s ability to reach for his or her dreams. Bernard Roth, author of, “The Achievement Habit, stop wishing, start doing and take control of your life” effectively uses Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle in chapter two, his argument contains ethos, pathos, and logos to authenticate the thought that reasons are bullshit.

The book The Achievement Habit: Stop wishing, Start doing, and Take Command of Your Life by Bernard Roth is an appealing book. Roth was a professor at Stanford University where he taught many students. Roth has a couple key points in chapters one and two. The key point that is most interesting is Reasons Are Bullshit. As Roth said “The problem with reasons is that they are just excuses prettied up”. (The Achievement Habit, Page 39). Bernard Roth uses the statement Reasons Are Bullshit to make points about life or when things do not have enough priority they tend to be put off till the last minute, Roth makes valid points of why Reasons Are Bullshit. It really is a great argument about how his reasons are bullshit because they are not a valid reason to something of your own fault.