If you want to sway the populace, then pathos and not logos is the best
rhetorical device to use. The demos can know something intellectually and yet
never be moved to act upon that information, but engage their emotions and you
will find that you can move mountains. One of the most powerful human emotions is that of fear. Fear can immobilize a person, but it can also prompt them to fight. Fear is often used in political and/or military speeches because it is such a powerful emotion that has the ability to incite people to take action when otherwise they might not.[1] Get people's fears raging and the rational part of the mind shuts down. The demos become motivated to act by fear; fear of the future, things that have not happened yet, fear of the past, things that have already happened and how they might impact them today, fear for the next generation. Of course one must make sure to depict the evil or troublesome situation as imminent and not remote. Aristotle says "Let fear be defined as a painful or troubled feeling caused by the impression of an imminent evil that causes destruction or pain; for men do not fear all evils, for instance, becoming unjust or slow-witted, but only such as involve great pain or destruction, and only if they appear to be not far off but near at hand and threatening, for men do not fear things that are very remote..."[2]
Consider Pagondas' speech in book four
of Thucydides Peloponnesian war. His speech is a great example of how the use
of fear can be used to motivate an army to go out to war even when there is no immediate
threat. Speaking about the Athenians, he says, "So much more have we to
fear from this neighbor than from another. Besides, people who, like the
Athenians in the present instance, are tempted by pride of strength to attack
their neighbors, usually march most confidently against those who keep still,
and only defend themselves in their own country, but think twice before they
grapple with those who meet them outside their frontier and strike the first
blow if opportunity offers. The Athenians have shown us this themselves; the
defeat which we inflicted upon them at Coronea, at the time when our quarrels
had allowed them to occupy the country, has given great security to Boeotia
until the present day. Remembering this, the old must equal their ancient
exploits, and the young, the sons of the heroes of that time, must endeavor not
to disgrace their native valor; and trusting in the help of the god whose
temple has been sacrilegiously fortified, and in the victims which, when we
sacrificed, appeared propitious, we must march against the enemy and teach him
that he must go and get what he wants by attacking someone who will not resist
him, but that men whose glory it is to be always ready to give battle for the
liberty of their own country and never unjustly to enslave that of others, will
not let him go without a struggle.”[7] He basically says that if they do not act, then they will be taken captive at some point. People respond to the fear that if they do not do something, then their enemies will take them captive. Certainly he links honor and glory as well, again playing on the emotions of the people, but the whole speech is cloaked in fear. Fear that the Athenians may one day take them captive as well as fear that they will not live up to the glory of the heroes of old.
On September 16, 2015 there was a
debate between the republican candidates for president. It is true that much of
the debate was focused on hubris, the greatness of America in the past how this
certain politician would bring America back to the greatness she once had, but
woven throughout the debate was also an intentional use of pathos. Playing on
the emotions of those watching, every candidate focused at some point on the
fears of the American people. We heard that if something does not change, then before
long people would not be able to pay their bills. It was also mentioned that
the American people do not know what is going on, which was meant to instill fear,
fear of the unknown.[8] We
were told that Social Security will go insolvent in a few years and it would
not be there for the poor who need it.[9] The
fear of disease and how we need to fight and make war against it was raised.[10]
But beyond all these fears was the one unifying fear and that was about
"radical Islam".
Many of the candidates spoke about
"radical Islam" in some way. Pataki, playing not only on fear, but
also calling to mind the emotions that most Americas felt back in 2001 said
"Last week was the anniversary of September 11th and I was governor of New
York on September 11th and led us through that horrible day. And I learned that
we cannot assume that because radical Islam is a continent away, it doesn't
pose a threat to us here in America. It did then, and today, I think, we are at
greater risk of an attack than at any time since. We have got to destroy ISIS's
ability to attack us here."[11] Graham said "I'm running for president
to destroy radical Islam, to win the war on terror, to protect you and your
family."[12]
Jindal said "We need to do whatever is necessary to hunt down and kill
these radical Islamic terrorists..."[13] Jindal
also said "We are at war with radical Islam. Our president loves to
apologize for America, he goes to the National Prayer Breakfast, brings up the
Crusades, criticizes Christians. We're at war today with radical Islamic
extremists."[14] When we compare the overall use of fear in Thucydides as well as the specific example of Pagondas' speech to that of the recent debate between the republican presidential candidates we see how the use of fear in emotionally manipulating the populace is a perennial concept.
We should not be surprised by the use of fear in speeches that are given especially in a democracy. The soul of a democracy is Epithymotic, which means that the people are ruled by their appetites, their emotions, and their passions.[15] Many of the speeches given at the September 2015 republican debate were based on pathos and an appeal to the appetites with the primary emphasis on fear, especially fear of "radical Islam".[16]
The masses are moved by emotions,
fear and pride, and understanding that is important when living in a society
that is said to be of the people, for the people and by the people. It is not
that fear in and of itself is morally bad. In fact, we in America have lost a
healthy fear of the tyrant[17]
and a healthy fear of science unrestrained.[18]
But being able to see how politicians use fear to try and draw followers after
themselves helps us better evaluate the logos of their statements and
arguments. Are the fears real or imagined? Has the power of the statement been
simply in the ability of the speaker to elicit an emotional response in the
hearer? Is there a lack of logic in the statement or argument that has been
covered over by the use or abuse of pathos? Pathos is such a major rhetorical
device used when a man or a nation is seeking to move the populace because when
the emotions are engaged often times the mind is disengaged.
[2]
Aristotle, Aristotle in 23 Volumes,
Translated by J. H. Freese., ed. J. H. Freese, vol. 22 (Medford, MA:
Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd., 1926), 1382a.
[3]
Thucydides (1998-09-10). The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the
Peloponnesian War (Kindle Location 771). Free Press. Kindle Edition
[4] Ibid
(Kindle Location 774).
[7] Thucydides
(1998-09-10). The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the
Peloponnesian War (Kindle Locations 9203-9212). Free Press. Kindle Edition.
[8] "Republican
Presidential Debate". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehRCd7f5RJc (accessed
September 25, 2015). 2:17:25; 2:40:30-2:46:30
[9] Ibid
2:18:54
[10] Ibid
2:27:30; 2:28:34
[11] "Republican Candidates Debate in
Simi Valley, California". Among Candidates Polling Below the Top Ten September 16, 2015 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=110758
(accessed September 25, 2015).
[13] Ibid
[16] "Republican
Presidential Debate". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehRCd7f5RJc (accessed
September 25, 2015).
