Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in the Rec

As I have learned through observing and going to the rec center in the past few weeks, I have become increasingly aware of the diverse and multiple purposes that the rec center serves among the TCU community. While looking at ethos, pathos, and logos, it has helped me to better understand the purpose of the rec center itself.

Ethos: As the book describes, ethos involves emotional appeals, which are especially powerful tools for influencing what people think and believe. Ethos strives to establish credibility and character. In specifics to the TCU rec center, I feel that ethos is created through the establishment itself. As in most things and buildings here at TCU, there has clearly been a lot of money invested here. This is without a doubt one of the nicest gyms that I have been to, and I am sure that most people would agree. Because of the quality and the amount of machines, weights, basketball courts, pools, game rooms, class rooms, and other various places inside of the rec center, it suggests that this is a legitimate place where one can go to be fit and healthy.

Pathos: Pathos, as we have learned, is an appeal to emotion. The TCU rec center does an exceptional job of appealing to emotion, and this is where it does its best job of drawing in students. The rec center attempts to draw in the students, and everyone that enters the gym, through creating at atmosphere that will encourage everyone to be active in some way. Through being at the rec center, that first step is accomplished, but while being there, in an almost subconscious way there are elements that push the individual to be fit. One way this is accomplished is through the music. Most people do not notice the music at first, but music played at the rec center is usually upbeat and fast. Studies have shown that people can work out faster and increase their heart rates while being active and listening to music with more beats per minute. Pathos is also created through the main visual argument here, which are the murals throughout the rec center. These murals are of people being active, and struggling, but accomplishing the task they are set to. These inspire people to work hard to achieve a certain goal, whether that may be to move up a weight class, lose a few pounds, or simply to be fit and maintain good health.

Logos: Logos is an appeal to logic. To me, logos is the least dominant of the three rhetorical devices in the rec center, but I feel that it is most evident through basic observation of the rec center, as well as using common sense. This ties in with ethos, but through simply being inside of the rec center, you can tell how many purposes it fulfills, as well as how much money has been put into making this a state-of-the-art facility that is inviting to the whole student body at TCU.