Logos, Ethos and Pathos: Whither academia and public health in a post-truth world? Rhetoric tells us there are three approaches to persuasive argument; logos, ethos and pathos (Bernanke, 2010). Logos is the appeal to logic by use of facts, data and analogies. Ethos is ethical appeal, focusing on the author’s credibility or character with allied use of audienceappropriate language and grammar. Pathos relates to emotional appeal by invoking sympathy, fear and anger.