Les images légitimes, les identités à respecter : un regard sémiotique sur l'éthos

This contribution seeks to problematize the notion of ethos from several angles of attack : (i) the claimed self-image and the ethos shown through the enunciative posture ; (ii) the strategic ethos and the image of the body ; (iii) the correlation between the image of the speaker and the image of the interlocutor. The objective of this problematization is the insertion of the notion of ethos into a faceted discursive theatre where the negotiation of the legitimization of discursive instances goes hand in hand with respect for their vulnerabilities. Thus, the discursive ethos can be affirmed as a management of the relationships between the images of the interactors and the constant reworking of their identities, according to movements of privatization (intimate dimension) or collectivization (public dimension).