Cultural Identity Essays Examples

Cultural image is associated with the norm that primarily determines ethical right to public speech in terms of ethos, logos, pathos. Belief is one of the broad categories of classical rhetoric, the exact boundaries of which is almost impossible to establish. The ethos, logos and pathos are core functions of speech, which, in turn, may lead to logical fallacies.
The concept of the logos assumes means of persuasion that operate the reason. Thus, Aristotle’s rhetoric is generally considered as logos primarily because of the logical and analytical tools of persuasion that were given a prominent place. The main type of persuasion, which Aristotle paid a special attention to, is reasoning from the general to the particular (Depew 2008). The concept of ethos correlates with the means of persuasion and appeals to the norms of human verbal behavior. It was argued that the quality of the speaker's personal ethical determine all the content of his message, and that students always have the opportunity to get an idea about what the speaker's ethos.
On the other hand, the concept of pathos correlates with the means of persuasion and appeals to the senses. The essence of pathos is that the speaker should be able to bring in the listeners feelings that might influence their opinions (Minozzi 2012). The question facing the speaker in this regard is whether he himself feel those feelings? And, if so, whether he has the right to "show" these feelings to listeners? Rhetorically educated person is able to induce the desired feelings in the listeners without being theatrical. Thorough understanding of logos, ethos and pathos suggest that message throughout its length is continuously monitored in all three aspects. Thus, it could be argued that rhetoric actually lays in the structure of the message, including the criterion of truth, sincerity and relevance of verbal behavior.
Ethos is the moral attitude that induces people to certain actions. Apparently, it is directly correlated with a sense of civic responsibility. Logos is a thought, an idea, which should be the subject of active reflection and learning on the dialectical level. Logos is verbal means used to implement a speech in terms of a logical chain of reasoning. Pathos is a rhetorical category, corresponding to expression of feelings, which are characterized by emotional pattern. Pathos are pertinent to the elements of the argument that have emotional impact on the audience. Ethos as a more sustainable moral element argument is often contrasted with pathos, as a temporary spiritual experience. Aristotle treated ethos as a way to image the human character through the style of his speech and through the focus as a basic feature of human activity. The audience cannot perceive inappropriate speech even with a strong argument (logos). The main feature of relevance is the theme of the speech, provided that the time, place and terms are agreed between the parties to the speech communication.
When it comes to social and psychological mechanisms of action, it is realized that one subject of mental activity is related to another one, namely certain sensation, perception, memory, thought, feeling or attitude. In a democratic society, in which the relationship between people are based primarily on the principles of humanism, an activity of each individual can be effective if it is based on conscience and conviction. Thus, a group of methods aimed at the formation of these qualities are decisive. In some life situations people are prone to lack clear beliefs, deeds, unity or social activism that can overshadow vices.
Word is a great tool for human communication and undoubtedly has a profound influence on people. When it comes to verbal persuasion, articulation, volume, pauses, the ability to manage gestures and facial expressions as well as a clear logical structure of language can make a difference. Traditional central concepts of classical rhetoric, namely ethos, logos and pathos are considered as the basis of a descriptive model of conventional cultural identity.
Logic is a chain of reasoning rather than specific facts, which refers to the argument. In other words, the question of logic is what conclusions can be drawn from recognized facts.
Logic is likely to check whether it is a right conclusion based on the facts. However, there is a considerable likelihood that logic has its errors. The logical fallacies tend to be the logical errors in its own content and errors that occur due to inaccuracies in verbal expression. In the first case, the error is incorrect logical process, the second is related to the wrong expression.
The most common logical fallacy in terms of inductive reasoning is hasty generalization. In such case the conclusion is based on the knowledge of general facts and it does not take into account the circumstances that may be the cause of the phenomenon under investigation. For instance, the student’s lateness for a lecture are likely to be concluded that the student is always late. This logical fallacy underlies rumors and unverified judgments. There are three categories of logical errors in natural language: ambiguities, assumptions and relevance. Fallacy of uncertainties suggests that there is something unclear or vague in an argument.
Assumptions arise when in the course of argument something unproven is assumed. Such fallacy arise when an argument presupposes something unproven. This argument can also be a good argument if a person adds some additional information; but when such information is missing, an error occurs. False dilemma is the wrong assumption that there are only two mutually exclusive possibilities, when in fact there are not. The relevance error occurs when judgements are not directly related to statements, although at first glance they seem to be associated. Biased epithet is the use of emotionally charged language to support the logical conclusion unproven. This can be a word or phrase containing offensive, hostile or contemptuous assessment. Another fallacy is an inappropriate argument. In this case, the argument is really something to prove; but it does not prove what is at issue. Therefore, the conclusion is inappropriate. The following error is a reference to the lack of knowledge. This fallacy occurs when it is declared that the statement must be true, because it does not prove that it is false.
Stereotype tend to contain a judging unit. Being consciously determined, stereotypes express feelings of personality and the system of values correlated with group feelings and group actions. Hence, prejudices effectively manage an entire process of perception, as a benchmark for evaluation and, therefore, the protection of the individual. Prejudice contribute to the process of interpretation of the socio-political unity of the group. A number of researchers indicate a relationship of stereotypes with a huge influence of the media. Stereotypes are integral part of any culture. Cultural biases are absorbed from the moment when a person begins to identify a certain cultural identity with a particular ethnic group. They have quite a strong impact on the psychology and behavior, stimulating the formation of their character traits, which are reflected in the identity.
Of particular significance is investigation of the role of ethnic stereotypes in the process of ethnic identity. To study the influence of stereotypes on the success of the adaptation of migrants to a new cultural environment, it is worth analyzing the ways and means of overcoming the negative impact of ethnic bias on inter-ethnic relations. Also it is vital to prevent the transition from prejudice as a mental construct. The range of problems facing ethnic psychology, and the choice of methods to resolve them is truly boundless. The main principle, apparently, should be a profound and impartial study of the peculiarities of ethnic groups and socio-psychological mechanisms of inter-ethnic cooperation in order to find ways for the most adequate perception of other people and communicate with them in a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect.
Ethnic stereotypes as a reflection of the socio-cultural characteristics of the ethnic group are striking embodiment of public opinions at a particular historical juncture. Stereotypes scrupulously reflect those points of view. Communication with ethnic stereotypes really depends on knowledge level and state of interethnic relations, as well as the shape of the existing environment. Ethnic stereotypes of behavior perpetuate cultural traditions and habits inherent in mono-ethnic environment. The genesis of ethnic stereotypes is inextricably linked to the formation of ethnic identity; resulting from long-term socio-historical development of the ethnic group. Ethnic stereotypes are considered as a reflection of the social characteristics and attitude to cultural heritage.

Works Cited

Depew, David J. “Confronting Aristotle's ethics.” Philosophy and Rhetoric 41.2 (2 Jul 2008). Web. 24 February 2015.
Fantino, Edmund; Stolarz-Fantino, Stephanie & Navarro, Anton. “Logical fallacies: A behavioral approach to reasoning.” The Behavior Analyst Today 4.1 (2003): 109- 117. Web. 24 February 2015.
Minozzi, William et al. “Logos, ethos, pathos: Mechanisms of persuasion in a deliberative field experiment.” (13 April 2012): 1-19. Web. 24 February 2015.