Ethos -- Pathos -- Logos -- Telos -- Ontos?

Aristotle advanced three basic forms of rhetorical argumentation:

Ethos appeals to conscience.
Pathos appeals to emotions.
Logos appeals to reason.

In addition, I want to mention another ancient Greek term:

Telos appeals to goals and the actions taken to achieve them.

The term ontology means the study of being or existence and forms the basic subject of discussion in metaphysics.

Following the general alliterative pattern set earlier in this post, I would assume I could find a term as follows:

Ontos appeals to being.

However, a Google search found no hits for this term other than a Wikipedia article on a military anti-tank vehicle!

Basically, I am looking for an ancient Greek term that shares the "-os" alliterative pattern and means the broad appeal to existing as a fully functioning human being, or at least being alive, or at least being. Bios does not seem to do the trick and I lack the knowledge to find another word. I appreciate any words of wisdom here.

EDIT: I think I found my answer at

http://www.ontos.org/ONTOS_History.htm

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 6/11, 12:54pm)

Post 1

Monday, June 11, 2007 - 3:03pm

Unfortunately, it sounds like another usurpation by a mystic..

Post 2

Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 12:04pm

Point of grammar: in Greek, the participle "being" is of a different declension from the other words you cite. They are nominatives. The nominative of the participle is "on" (the o being an omega, like the o in "bone", rather than an omikron like the o in "got"); "ontos" (omikron in both places) is, despite the coincidentally similar formation, the genitive - the grammatical case for origin or possession among other uses. That's why you didn't find "ontos." (The ontos.org site is wrong on this point.)
On / ontos
Logos / logou
Pathos / pathous
Ethos / ethous

An alternative word for "being" as an abstract noun, which Aristotle uses extensively, is "ousia." This should serve your purpose. "Being" or "entity" are the likeliest translations; Aristotle's translators traditionally but misleadingly use "substance."

If by "appeal to being" you mean "appeal to facts," then "logos" looks like the one to use. Aristotle gives us a list of mental faculties capable of responding to an argument. "Being" isn't a natural fit. Reminds me of a question on an aptitude test - which item doesn't belong?

(Edited by Peter Reidy on 6/13, 11:05am)

Post 3

Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 12:52pm

Peter, I appreciate the lesson in ancient Greek. Just to clarify what I want to do, let me explain. My book The Vision-Driven� Individual, originally entitled The Vision-Driven� Life, will divide into five sections:

1. Soul
2. Emotions
3. Mind
4. Body
5. Life

To accentuate the ancient roots of these segments of human being and their end totality, I wanted to employ words from ancient Greece to complement their modern English counterparts as well as their Objectivist value equivalents. Hence:

1. Soul         --> Ethos --> Self              (the proper root of all personal values)
2. Emotions --> Pathos --> Self-Esteem (the love of self first and foremost)
3. Mind       --> Logos --> Reason        (the use of the mind to grasp reality)
4. Body       --> Telos --> Purpose        (the taking of actions in accordance with the preceding values)
5. Life         --> Ousia  --> Existence      (the continued living one experiences via embracing the preceding values)

Reality imposes a constant choice upon living human beings between life and death, i.e. between existence and non-existence, i.e. being and non-being. It follows that a human being who volitionally chooses to live can "win the argument for life" with reality by following the Aristotelian ethos-pathos-logos pattern to a proper telos and thus enjoy ousia for as long as nature will allow him.

Post 4

Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 3:32pm