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Definition of Logos
Logos, along with ethos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Logos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Logos, along with ethos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Logos is... read full definition
Logos, along with ethos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing World
Explanation and Analysis—The Worm-Men's Argument:
Common throughout the first section of The Blazing World is the use of logical arguments to explore the Empress’s, and by extension Cavendish’s, philosophical and scientific viewpoints. Through the Empress’s dialogues with the various scientists of the Blazing World, Cavendish outlines her philosophical beliefs, employing logos to convey her reasoning and convince readers. Throughout this section, the arguments are not emotional but instead based on reason and logic.
One example of logos in The Blazing World is from the Empress’s conversation with the worm-men about the nature of identity and being.
[...] for how is it possible, that a natural nothing can have a being in nature? If it be no substance, it cannot have a being, and if no being, it is nothing; [...] all parts of nature are composed in one body, and though they may be infinitely divided, commixed and changed in their particulars, yet in general, parts cannot be separated from parts as long as nature lasts [...] and therefore your Majesty may firmly believe, that there is no body without colour, nor no colour without body; for colour, figure, place, magnitude, and body, are all but one thing, without any separation or abstraction
In this section, the Empress first asks the worm-men if minerals are colorless. Through a complex line of logic that employs logos, the worm-men convince the Empress that everything in nature must have color or else it does not exist, and that parts cannot be separated from the whole. They go on to argue logically that every physical thing must have color, shape, place, and weight. This section includes a long explanation, an example of logos, using logical rhetoric with one argument building on the next. For example, they initially argue that everything that exists must have substance and that all parts of nature are “composed in one body.” This argument builds up to their greater argument that “there is no body without colour,” with each argument in a logical progression.
This use of logos thoroughly convinces the Empress and aims to convince the reader as well. Methodically working through the steps of the argument, Cavendish argues her philosophical beliefs with convincing logos.
Related Themes:
