Paul Bloom, in the article “The Baby In The Well: The Case Against Empathy,” argues that the human emotion, empathy, causes our world more harm than it does good and that humans should use reason in place of it. Bloom supports his claims by contrasting between a counter argument and examples that back up his view on empathy. The author’s purpose is to inform people about how empathy can blow situations out of proportion in order to try and make them believe that reason is much more useful in making decisions. Paul Bloom writes in a formal tone for his audience of middle aged men and women who read The New Yorker.
Bloom starts out his article with a strong counter argument from the point that he is making. In the beginning, the article is in favor of empathy. The author quotes President Obama saying, “I don’t believe the world has enough empathy.” He makes you believe that empathy is something very important and that we all need more of it. He even quotes two books, “The Empathetic Civilization,” and “Humanity On A Tightrope,” in which they state “empathy is the main driving force of human progress and humanity will need more of it to survive.” He also quotes another author on bullying saying that “the scariest part of bullying is the utter lack of …show more content…
He persuades his audience in a powerful manner because he tackles his arguments from every direction. He addresses both sides of the story and then shows how his argument is correct. This makes his arguments undeniable and concrete. Because of this, anyone that would try to refute his arguments can instantly be combated with facts that he has stated throughout his article. This is the level of persuading that you have to achieve in order to make your claims evident and undeniable. Paul Bloom backs up each and every one of his claims with incredible amounts of ethos and makes it so that everything he says is effective at persuading his
Bloom starts out his article with a strong counter argument from the point that he is making. In the beginning, the article is in favor of empathy. The author quotes President Obama saying, “I don’t believe the world has enough empathy.” He makes you believe that empathy is something very important and that we all need more of it. He even quotes two books, “The Empathetic Civilization,” and “Humanity On A Tightrope,” in which they state “empathy is the main driving force of human progress and humanity will need more of it to survive.” He also quotes another author on bullying saying that “the scariest part of bullying is the utter lack of …show more content…
He persuades his audience in a powerful manner because he tackles his arguments from every direction. He addresses both sides of the story and then shows how his argument is correct. This makes his arguments undeniable and concrete. Because of this, anyone that would try to refute his arguments can instantly be combated with facts that he has stated throughout his article. This is the level of persuading that you have to achieve in order to make your claims evident and undeniable. Paul Bloom backs up each and every one of his claims with incredible amounts of ethos and makes it so that everything he says is effective at persuading his