TITLE:
Theoretical Inconsistencies in Aristotle’s Treatment of Pathos
AUTHORS:
Mohammad Ahmadi
KEYWORDS:
Aristotle, Rhetoric, Pathos, Enthymeme, Emotional Appeal, Pisteis
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.15 No.4,
November
18,
2025
ABSTRACT: Aristotle’s Rhetoric presents a number of internal inconsistencies, many of which stem from its nature as a compilation of lecture notes developed over several decades. As a result, the terminology employed across different sections is not always consistent, and the work appears to address multiple audiences, ranging from students of dialectic to aspiring orators. Certain parts of the text—such as the treatment of emotion in Book II and much of Book III—likely originated as independent lectures and were later incorporated into the treatise without full conceptual integration. These structural and conceptual inconsistencies are reflected in specific topics throughout the work and are particularly evident in Aristotle’s treatment of pathos, or emotional appeal. This paper identifies and analyzes four major inconsistencies in Aristotle’s account of pathos: 1) The status of pathos as a persuasive proof: In the opening of the Rhetoric, Aristotle appears to downplay pathos as a legitimate pistis (proof), yet later chapters—particularly in Book II—assign it a central role in rhetorical persuasion. 2) The relationship between pathos and the enthymeme: Although Aristotle associates the enthymeme strictly with logos, he does not clearly indicate whether emotional appeals can be integrated into this deductive structure, leaving the relationship between pathos and rational reasoning unresolved and ambiguous. 3) Incomplete application of the tripartite analysis of emotion: Aristotle proposes that each emotion should be examined through a triadic framework—comprising the subject’s state of mind, the object of the emotion, and the contextual circumstances. However, in his treatment of several specific emotions, this structure is applied only partially, and in one instance, omitted altogether. 4) Audience character and rhetorical strategy: Chapters 12 - 17 of Book II, which outline the emotional and behavioral traits of various demographic groups, create interpretive uncertainty by overlapping concerns traditionally associated with both pathos and ēthos.