“Deus Caritas Est”: Basis for the Operation of the Concept of Ethos

Abstract

This paper aims to study the relations between the deep level of the generative path of meaning and enunciative level in the framework of tensive semiotics (Zilberberg, 2006), which enables an articulation of the semiotic theory and the new rhetoric (see Meyer 2007 and Perelman; Olbrechts-Tyteca, 2005). In this light, we investigate the semiotic notion of style in order to bring together the stylistic approach to discourse and the tensive view. We seek, therefore, to provide the basis for the operationalization of the concept of ethos, observed in the religious diffusion discourse of the encyclical “Deus Caritas Est”, a document promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI on 25 December 2005. The analysis of the encyclical revealed a style marked by its doctrinal content, clarity, references to the Latin language and the effect of indisputableness created by the use of the biblical narrative. Thus, we conclude that the ethos apprehended is that of a superior tone of voice, tied to the values of tradition. Moreover, we also found the ethos to be that of a Catholic intellectual, a theologian who wishes not only to transmit, but also to defend and build the foundations of a universal doctrine. Finally, in spite of its doctrinal and imperative qualities, this subject reveals traits of a benevolent image, as he includes other conceptions of love into the concept of caritas-ágape.