Yes, another school post here. However, this one needs to be read. First, a little bit of Aristotle.
Aristotle's taught that a successful persuasive argument is one that is build on three pillars he calls Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. Ethos is the integrity or ethics of the speaker. Can you trust the speaker?Logos is obviously the logic of the argument. Is the argument based on sound facts? Pathos is the emotional appeal to the audience. What state of mind does the argument put the audience in?
Here is a visual breakdown of it:
Okay, so with that knowledge now, apply this to life. Wait, what? apply some old dude's philosophy to today's techno world? What does Aristotle know about Facebook?
Aristotle didn't know about Facebook, however what he did know about was humans and our thought processes. Daily on Facebook we are bombarded with images and persuasive arguments that are meant to move us. Unfortunately not all of them are worthy of our attention. Coming up soon we'll be seeing tons more. Politics and the Election in 2016 will present us with multiple arguments moving us to vote for one candidate over another. It is our job to look at each one with Aristotle in mind. Is the candidate trustworthy? What is their ethics like? Their character? Can we trust this person? Is their argument based on facts? Is the logic sound? And with that please do not become impassioned by the emotional appeal.
Okay, enough of the Public Service Announcement. Onto the art....with a little more Aristotle!
I found this quote and love it. This right here is what I strive to achieve. I love painting horses and love sharing my passion with you. To me horses are beautiful both on the outside and inside. Yet it is the significance to my life that truly makes them special.
Speaking of significance, here are some of the photos I took at the Breeders Cup Show a couple weeks back. Horse people know that just the smell of the arena alone can soothe one's soul. I am really falling in love with these Saddlebred horses. They have such an eager way of moving and their owners/riders seem so happy! In fact, while I was doing a bit of research on saddleseat shows, this is one of the main characteristics of a good pair, the smile and ease of the rider and the eager, happy look to the horse!
Beautiful isn't it?
I'll leave you with this last word from Aristotle. Choose excellence and strive for it.
Aristotle Memes. Quotefans.com. 9-20-2013. web. accessed: 5-25-2015
Aristotle Rhetoric. Do It Like Aristotle. www.florianmueck.com. web. accessed: 5-25-2015
