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Date: October 27, 2016 To: Dr. Stuart MacMillan From: Yang Zhou 29225188 Subject: Rhetorical Analysis of “Is Humanity Suicidal” Note: the original article could be found at http://www.ecobuddhism.org/wisdom/psyche_and_spirit/edward_wilson/ Introduction This essay is focused on evaluating the effective and ineffective rhetorical strategies which are employed in the article “Is Humanity Suicidal”. The author, Edward O. Wilson, is a Pulitzer Prize winning Harvard Professor. In his article, he tries to draw the ordinary people’s attention and to convince them to change their behaviors to save the existence of human race. His strategies includes: a story to drive attention; contrasting arguments; ethical and effective use of ethos, pathos, logos; explanation of environmental theory. This essay breaks his article down into paragraphs to analyze his technique. Discussion The first two paragraphs start with a story and successfully drive the audience’s attention by introducing the possibility of the end of the world. The story shows how human's interactions with different environment aspects have destroyed the planet. The author uses pathos and tries to give the audience the sense of fear by describing some human destruction results such as “Atmospheric carbon dioxide rises to the highest level in 100,000 years. The ozone layer of the stratosphere thins, and holes open at the poles”. The third paragraph states the author’s main concern of the world’s ecosystem by stating the fact that the population has doubled in the past 50 years and predicted it will double again in the next 50 years. In the fourth paragraph, Wilson states that how human values badly affect the environment. By implying the general rule of ecology, the author uses logos arguments including scientific data such as only about 10 percent of one specie’s energy could transfer to the upper species in the food chain, he also states that human value of liking meat makes the use of the sun’s energy at low efficiency. Furthermore, to support his argument, he also states the facts that human’s “construction of buildings and roadways and the creation of wastelands” and “relentless search for more food” have reduced other animals’ life. In the fifth paragraph, Wilson mainly uses ethos to support his argument that human is destroying the environment. By discussing the “Juggernaut Theory of Human Nature”, and also psychologists’ discovery, Wilson says that “people are programmed by their genetic heritage to be so selfish that a sense of global responsibility will come too late.” In the next two paragraphs, Wilson explains humanity’s historical role in creating current condition and the evolution of brains in the sixth paragraph, and exponential growth in both the human population and technologies can pass through into the future to affect the environment. By offering and discussing the scientific data of the past growth of the population, and the prediction of the future and the example of the growth of Nigeria’s population, he convinces the audience that endangering the environment is accelerated. In the next three paragraphs, Wilson states that the Earth's natural resources are finite and the Earth's ability to sustain itself from humanity's rough treatment is unknown. By using the contrasting strategy, he discusses two perspectives for the human species, which are exemptionalism and environmentalism. Wilson’s statements and opinions are logical in these paragraphs. However, the lack of scientific convincing evidence makes his arguments less persuasive, some audiences may think that these arguments are just his own opinion. For the following paragraphs, Wilson states that he has hope for the human race and human can change their way to affect the various pieces of ecosystems. He lists lots of statistics and facts, for example when discussing the extinctions are increasing frequency. He uses ethos by “The United Nations Conference on Environment and … to Humanity” to support his argument of environmental deterioration. However, even though his assertions may be supported by current research, Wilson doesn’t reference them. Also, the use of the ideas from “many scientists” and “psychologists”, lacks scientific validity. Conclusion On one hand, the author, one of the world's great biologists and humanists, uses precise words to develop his augment that human beings are not a suicidal species. His using strong logos and persuasive scientific data certainly makes an excellent point that human species are changing their behavior and working toward a more stable natural environment. One the other hand, some of Wilson’s arguments may lack convincing evidences. His scientific background may help him get accepted by people who are already in the field of biology and ecology. However, this article may fall short of being a global wake up call to the ordinary public.