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Logos, Ethos, Pathos or a Politics of Errors

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Traces of Violence and Freedom of Thought

Part of the book series: Studies in the Psychosocial ((STIP))

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the question to what extent contemporary politics is only the eristic technique skilled at introducing pathos and instrumentally appealing to logos and ethos . Aristotle’s rhetorical triad—logos, ethos , pathos —makes rhetoric the art of persuasive or honest communication . Symbolic violence requires no active inculcation, no persuasive effort, and no intentional influence. Any realistic analysis of effecting power and politics must begin with the analysis of this initial acceptance of the world . Of all the forms of subcutaneous persuasion, the most relentless and insidious is that which is disguised as the “order of things” and, when granted, is its acceptance.

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Correspondence to Szymon Wróbel .

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Wróbel, S. (2017). Logos, Ethos, Pathos or a Politics of Errors. In: Auestad, L., Treacher Kabesh, A. (eds) Traces of Violence and Freedom of Thought. Studies in the Psychosocial. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57502-9_3

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