Question 1

What is the difference between Ethos and Reputation?

Accepted Answer

Reputation walks in the door with you; ethos has to be manufactured on stage. Aristotle's whole point is that the second is an art and the first isn't — which is why an unknown speaker can have enormous ethos and a famous one can squander theirs in a paragraph.

Question 2

Are Ethos and Reputation the same thing?

Accepted Answer

Aristotle rules this out in the very next sentence after defining it: 'this confidence must be due to the speech itself, not to any preconceived idea of the speaker's character.' Credentials are exactly what ethos is not; it has to be built inside the speech.

Question 3

How do I know if I mean Ethos rather than Reputation?

Accepted Answer

Readers who land here meaning Ethos rather than Reputation are usually searching for phrases like “what is ethos in rhetoric”, “ethos pathos logos explained”, “is ethos your credentials”.

Aspect	Ethos	Reputation
Where it comes from	The speech	Before the speech
Can be learned	Yes — it's an art	No
Available to unknowns	Yes	No
Aristotle counts it	Yes	No

Side by side

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Ethos

Where the confusion comes from

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