This chapter introduces the foundational concepts necessary for the study of emotional appeals in natural language argumentation. It begins with the classical notion of pathos in Aristotle’s Rhetoric, emphasizing its relevance to contemporary persuasion in both everyday and political contexts. Emotional appeals are examined across traditions including classical rhetoric, informal logic, discourse analysis, and feminist argumentation. The chapter presents pathos as a pragmatically grounded, interactional phenomenon shaped by the speaker to influence the emotional stance of the audience. It distinguishes persuasive argumentation from manipulation and outlines how emotions function within argument structures, not as external accompaniments but as embedded elements. Drawing on Inference Anchoring Theory and contemporary perspectives on persuasion and social influence, the chapter clarifies the role of speaker intent, argument reconstruction, and dialogical context in interpreting emotional appeals. It concludes by situating emotional argumentation as a legitimate and necessary object of empirical study, preparing the conceptual groundwork for the interactional model of pathos and the analyses developed in the following chapters.