March 29th

The article “Fully Automated Luxury Communism” in my opinion sounds terrible and just like true pure communism is a Utopian outlook on life. I believe that it would be nice if it were true or possible but the simple law of scarcity says otherwise. Reasources are not limitless nor are the bountifully within reach. To have the kind of living the article proposes you would need faster than light travel so we could reach resources outside our solar system. We would need to have colonized more planets to accommodate the rapid growth factors that would happen if all needs and wants have been or will be met once they arrive. The reason that I feel the type of communism described in the article wouldn’t be enjoyable to me is that it takes a lot of drive out of life. People need push factors if you were to take away any negative feedback or struggle you lose the thrill that is overcoming something. People as a rule don’t generally respect items they haven’t earned. Think back to something your parents always supplied to you in life and how you treated it then, now think of how you treated it when they stopped supplying it for you and you had to work to earn or obtain this item. It meant much more to you when you had worked hard and earned it with your own money. That is value the value you as a person puts on a item its not necessarily bad that people act this way in a general sense but it does create a unique problem. For instance I one used to lose pens and pencils all the time so much so that I would go through a pack of pens about every two weeks, then once I graduated high school and I had to purchase my own supplies I realized how incredibly expensive pens can be when you’re losing them whilly nilly. Therefore, I paid more attention to where I put them because the value and cost had gone way up for me personally.

Final Blog

In the reading “The means to persuasion” it discusses the three types of appeals Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. Pathos is the appeal to the emotion it’s a way to convince the reader to a particular argument using the emotional context. In Obama’s speech “A more perfect union” he uses Pathos by telling the story of Ashley and how the elderly black man sitting at the end of the row tells her he’s supporting the campaign because of her. This is to humanize the concept Obama is trying to get across in his speech. Secondly, ethos is and appeal to ethics to give the speaker credibility with the audience. Obama uses ethos by explaining his background of both white and black sides of his immediate family, and his education and diversity of where he was raised both in Kenya and in the US. The description of his past and diversity helps align himself in the audience’s mind that he has seen both sides of the argument and lived alongside them. Finally, Logos is the use of logic to persuade one’s audience to accept your argument. He uses logos in his speech by explaining that even “open minded” people still carry preconceived notions using his grandmother and his pastor as examples, and that logically if some very close open minded individuals have these notions then work is not yet done on the front of bringing together America as a whole and not allowing racial prejudices to further widen the divide between each other. Obama’s speech is as moving as it is a textbook example of how properly introducing logos pathos and ethos into one’s speech and literature you can create moving and effective arguments that truly reach the reader or audience thus sharing your viewpoint and arguments further than would otherwise be possible.

Feb 8 "The egg and the Sperm" "Twilight vs. Hunger Games"

In the two articles “The egg and the sperm” by Emily Martin and “Twilight vs. Hunger Games” by Noah Berlatsky both authors give their viewpoints on gender roles in society. Berlatsky uses two multi-million dollar films with leading female roles “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games” to show the stark contrast of how female gender roles are portrayed by the media. Katniss is a strong female role with traditionally masculine temperaments and attributes. She can protect herself refuses help and kills to defend the ones she loves all normally believed to be masculine traits. Bella, on the other hand, is portrayed as “boy crazy” physically weak often getting injured and needing help and protection from the two male roles. As both stories progress Berlasky notes that both females seek their opposites in their romantic relationships for Katniss this is Peeta who doesn’t want to hurt anyone prefers baking foods and generally a very sweet disposition, However Bella, on the other hand, has two romantic relationships and both of which are physically strong dominating characters who strive to protect her from any and all unknown sources or threats. At the end of his, article Berlatsky argues that you more than likely wouldn’t want either personality for your daughter as Katniss has a penchant for killing people and Bella can barely stand up for herself. This gives the reader the inclination that Berlatsky thinks a mix of both feminine and masculine personality traits and attributes would be better than typical gender roles. In Matin’s “The egg and the sperm” she explains how science and society have made the women’s male reproductive organs seem less important by depicting the reproductive process on the females’ side to be less interesting seem less valuable to the reproductive process as a whole. Both authors share stances that females’ don’t have to be one or the other “girly” or masculine but can be both and its society as a whole that has to come to terms with this standpoint.

Last Blog

In the “Means of Persuasion”, the essay discussed the four different types of appeals, ethos, pathos, and logos. However, in “A More Perfect Union”, which was a speech given by Barack Obama during his campaign, he demonstrates all of these appeals. Although all three of these appeals were used, the ones that stood out most were pathos and ethos. Pathos is an ethical appeal, while ethos is an emotional appeal. This address was very heartfelt and sympathetic. His use of pathos throughout his speech painted the picture of a proud American, and the use of ethos allowed us to be able to look deeper into his life and story. It is important to understand why the speech was written. Due to some racial comments that his pastor made, this speech was given because of all the controversy surrounding it. Obama did not directly address his pastor comments and state whether they were right or wrong, but he did paint a picture of himself for the world to see, and let everyone know where he stood as an African American citizen in the U.S. His pathos and ethos played a role in describing his diversity and his background, and his pride in being American. This was a very relatable speech, he didn’t speak necessarily like a politician, but like a citizen.

Last Blog!

In both readings, the authors use the techniques ethos, pathos and logos in order to sway the readers in different ways. I found it more prominent particularly in Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union" that the ethos, pathos, and logos are organized in a more fluent way. I find that in "Means of Persuasion", the way its written is more examples and how to incorporate the techniques. However, they both use the techniques and get the audience to listen how to use them to sway a group of people listening to the message. Barrack Obama's speech was very heartwarming, credible, and makes the audience understand how he personally feels. I think Obama's genuine feelings really reach me personally, and it's helpful that he knew how to use all his persuasive techniques in different ways, naturally.

Final Blog

In both readings, “Means of Persuasion” and “A More Perfect Union” by former president Barack Obama, both contain strong examples of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. Barack Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech does well at using all three different appeals, but I feel that wat really drove it home was his many uses of pathos. In the speech two examples come to mind, that show strong uses of pathos and ethos. When he lets his audience know how lucky he feels to be in America, “I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles, and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.” This also let’s Obama catch the attention of the other races, as he is not only running for the black community. When Obama explains that if we do not act now, there will always be a distraction that keeps us from talking about the problems that really matter, “That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, ‘Not this time.’” Similarly to Barack Obama’s speech, in “Means of Persuasion,” we are given good examples of ethos, pathos, and logos but they are a lot more focused on individual tactics to appeal and persuade your audience. 

The End of the Blogs

After reading "Means of Persuasion," it was very compelling to analyze the extensive use of emotional, ethical and logic appeals from former President "Barack Obama's Speech on Race." President Obama begins his speech with logical appeals, as he explains the the roots of slavery and its presence within the constitution. The president then smoothly shifts his speech into emotional territory, and his use of pathos almost seemed to be an ethical appeal as well, due to his sympathetic and passionate way of speaking. He then adds to his ethical appeal with background information of his family and life, and he explains his racial background and what effect is has had on his life. This speech is very interesting all around because of its use of these appeals. Present Obama smoothly used all three appeals in a cohesive manner to help persuade the audience in an effective way. His appeals seem to all be working together, as a group that is laying out the methods of persuasion, rather than as single independent units. I found that looking at the appeals in this way is eye-opening, and it helps me gain an understanding the influence and importance of appeals while trying to persuade a reader or audience.