In literature, logos refers to the use of logic and reasoning to persuade the reader, and this is especially true when it comes to persuasive writing — such as an argumentative essay or persuasive speech — but logos can also be used in other types of writing.
Logos can be used for good or evil. When used for evil, it is called propaganda. It can also mean “a speech or discourse.”
Logos is one of three rhetorical modes (along with ethos and pathos) that are used to persuade an audience. The persuasive speaker uses logos as his main tactic; however, other rhetorical devices are often employed in conjunction with logos. For example, if you were trying to convince someone that your point of view was correct, you would have to appeal to their emotions as well as their intellect with pathos and ethos.
The most common use of logos in literature is when an author makes an argument using reason and logic rather than emotion or personal opinion.
To understand how logos works in literature, it’s helpful to understand how Aristotle used the term in his Rhetoric (ca. 350 BCE). Aristotle believed that all writing should be based on reason and logical deduction rather than emotion or personal experience. He believed that persuasion occurs when a speaker uses logical arguments to convince an audience that something is true or false. Logos is one type of appeal used in rhetoric because it appeals to reason rather than emotion or personal experience.
