Essay \"Argument analysis\" - grade 78 PDF

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Dr. Martin Simpson ENC 1101 11 September 2015 Argument Analysis Have you ever wondered about all of those ‘end of the world’ theories and why they keep on making new ones as the old ones are proven false? “Apocalypse Not: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Worry about End Times” explores this idea of reoccurring apocalyptic theories. This essay is convincing, with good pathos, ethos, and an effective use of logos. The essay begins with the 2012 apocalyptic theory which is relevant and speaks to the audience because the essay was published in a magazine in August of 2012. Then the author, Matt Ridley, continues to appeal to the audience when discussing different types of apocalyptic theories throughout history, by incorporating examples from widely known sources. Oprah Winfrey talking about the dangers of AIDS, a quote from The Matrix, and a few quotes from Jimmy Carter, just to name a few. When an author uses widely known sources, the topic at hand seems much more relevant to the audience. Ridley also uses a story from The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich to give some illustration to the essay. “When the sun rises on December 22, as it surely will” is a very confident sounding statement which Ridley uses and convinces the audience that this is what he truly believes in (Ridley). Then the first historical examples that are given are the 100,000 Millerites in 1843 that fled fearing the end of the world, and the followers of Harold Camping, from 1994 and 2011, both are religious examples which prove that there are people who always believe in these

!2 apocalyptic myths (Ridley). Although these examples are not necessarily supported by professional sources, this essay was for a magazine and therefore does not affect the credibility of the author. Many of the apocalyptic theories that are brought up are shown to be true by trustworthy sources. These sources include best-selling economists, ecologists, and scientists. However, the disproofs of the theories don’t have any credible sources to back them up. This can be a problem when the argument centers around the disproofs. The argument would have been slightly more convincing if there were more credible sources to back up the reality of the apocalyptic theories. Good ethos was seen where the author acknowledges the opposing side. “True, we have encountered obstacles, public-health emergencies, and even mass tragedies” (Ridley). He doesn’t ignore the fact that these tragedies that are foreshadowed are happening in small proportions. He instead makes a counterargument and says that essentially, the end of the world has not happened yet. The structure of this essay is fairly logical and easy to understand. The numerous apocalyptic theories from the past 50 years are divided into four categories according to the causes: chemicals, diseases, people and resources (Ridley). Ridley’s argument is consistent throughout the whole essay, as it goes back and forth between the theory and the evidence proving it false. Some examples include DTT as a cause of cancer, but instead having no definite link, the swine flu panic in 1976, in which the vaccine caused more deaths than the actual disease, and the mass starvation that was predicted in parts of the world, which was proven wrong by declining death rates and famines (Ridley). Overall the essay was reasonably convincing and effective to persuade the audience that many apocalyptic theories have always existed, been proven wrong, and will continue to

!3 develop. Yet humanity should embrace and fight to prevent these apocalyptic problems, rather than fear the end of the world. !

!4 Work Cited Ridley, Matt. “Apocalypse Not: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Worry About End Times.” Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 17 Aug. 2012. Web. 2 Sept. 2015....