Unit 1: Credibility and Ethos
The quality of information you use to support your ideas affects your credibility as a writer and thinker. For example, suppose you use material you find on a website or in a magazine article that includes a ranting blogger or author as evidence to support your claims. In that case, you bring your argument down to the author's level, especially if the material does not seem to have been peer-reviewed. However, using information vetted by scholars and professional organizations elevates your thinking and bolsters your ethos to your readers.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 1 hour.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- define ethos;
- explain the features that make up your ethos; and
- explain the importance of considering the ethos of the sources you use.
1.1: Ethos
Ancient Greek philosophers used the word ethos to define how a speaker presents themselves to their audience. Ethos is more than just style or looks; it is about the respect, authority, and credibility you communicate to your audience through balanced reasoning, proficiency on a subject, and your dependability as a researcher and thinker. Ethos is more about your character than about your ideas.
We derive the word ethic from ethos. Think about it: if you find someone ethical, you believe they are credible. Doesn't someone lose credibility if they make unethical decisions? Your career as a student and a professional relies primarily on your ethos. Those who study rhetorical and leadership studies often say that ethos is everything. Today, we consider ethos to be the kind of credibility you have with any stakeholder. Every decision you make within an organization – in an academic or professional field or in a relationship – will shape your ethos.
Watch this video on ethos, which defines the term and explores two types of ethos: situated ethos, which comes from having an existing relationship with your audience, and invented ethos, which is derived from how you build your credibility with an audience who does not know you before your meeting. Pay attention to the three elements that are necessary to persuade others according to the ancient Greeks: logos, ethos, and pathos.
This video continues the discussion and explains why intentionally thinking about and developing your ethos with an audience is critical before individuals will be willing to accept your message and see you as credible.
Aristotle talked about how ethos, pathos, and logos work together to impact how audiences assess credibility to decide whether a message is persuasive or believable. This video explores how these ideas work together and what that means for the impact of your message.
1.2: Personal vs. Professional Ethos
Your experiences related to a given issue or topic shape your personal ethos. For example, someone who has been the victim of a crime has credibility when speaking to public officials about criminal justice policy. This person may not have a college degree in criminal justice or work for a law enforcement agency, but they speak with some credibility, and their audience will likely respect them.
Your education and career will also shape your professional ethos. For example, someone who has studied the social-emotional effects of crime victims can speak with authority to public officials about criminal justice policy. This person may not have ever been a victim, but their academic background shapes their credibility and will command respect from an audience.
Most professions have generated a code of ethics that practitioners in that field are expected to follow. To get a sense of what it looks like to build credibility in different fields, let's look at examples from the healthcare and journalism professions. Watch this short video for examples of how medical professionals develop their professional ethos.
This article gives examples of the code of ethics we expect journalists to follow. It will help you understand what a professional code of ethics is and how it helps a journalist build their ethos. Understanding these guidelines help us assess when a journalist is living up to their professional expectations.
1.3: Why You Should Check Your Sources
When you write or speak, there are two layers of ethos to consider: your ethos and the ethos of the sources you use to support your presentation. These layers combine to form your overall ethos for your audience. With this in mind, let's discuss why it is important to build your credibility by ensuring you are using credible and reputable sources that exhibit good ethos.
Examining an author's ethos is not the only way to vet a source, but it is probably the most important. While an argument may be true or false, regardless of who is speaking or writing (facts are facts), we are more or less likely to pay attention or discredit an argument according to how we perceive the speaker's ethos. Many teachers and professionals follow the motto ethos is everything.
You should check your sources to support the claims (arguments), interpretations, opinions, and perspectives you communicate. Your sources establish the context for the subject or topic. For example, historical or other background information can help set the stage for your readers. Checking your sources can provide rhetorical and academic context to explain what others have said or done on the topic. Contextual background information showcases what scholars and stakeholders are saying and doing about your subject.
If you fail to check your sources, you open yourself up to quoting or citing inaccurate or just-plain-false information, which can damage your ethos or reputation. Remember, your audience has the ability to Google what you are saying and fact-check you as you speak or as they read, and they will.
Watch this video, which explores and demystifies how to assess the quality of your news sources. Understanding how to sort fact from fiction, myth, and outright lies is an essential critical thinking skill. Many of the basic skills you use to determine what to believe and to choose the news sources you follow are a part of the same skillset you use to assess accuracy and truthfulness.
Consider the case of journalist Judith Miller, a writer for the New York Times, who reported inaccurate information from an unreliable source that led to the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Times fired Miller, and she lost credibility among her readers, other journalists, and policymakers. These journalists may have the best intentions, but their reputation is on the line if they reference a bad source.
Read this description of journalism scandals, followed by two examples of when writers famously published sketchy or completely fabricated research: Jonah Lehrer and Sabrina Erdely. Think about how their actions affected their credibility and their careers.
Jonah Lehrer was caught for recycling his earlier work, plagiarizing from colleagues, and fabricating or misusing quotations and facts in 2012. Read this summary of what happened.
Rolling Stone Magazine published an article by Sabrina Erdely in 2014 about a rape that allegedly occurred at the University of Virginia. The story was later found to have been fabricated. Read this description of what happened.