Rhetorical Analysis Strategies

Assignment 3: Rhetorical Analysis “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education” is an article written by world famous cellist, Yo-Yo Ma. In this article, Yo-Yo Ma identifies and discusses the role of arts in the world, stressing the point that these arts are a necessary element in the education system. Ma believes that the skills learned from these arts, are in fact, “essential” to the kind of balanced thinking that is needed in today’s world. Throughout this article, Yo-Yo Ma brilliantly portrays his thoughts, and gains the support of his audience through the use of ethos, logos, and pathos, while also maintaining a clear and concise stance. Yo-Yo Ma successfully demonstrates the use of ethos in this article to build a sturdy foundation

Ma begins his paper by referring to the argument made by University of Southern California professor, and well established neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio. This argument states “that feeling and emotions expressed in art and music play a central role in high-level cognitive reasoning,” (Ma 258). Ma elaborates on this by mentioning how new advances in neurobiology have made it more clear that the human brain uses dual neural pathways for thinking processes, one for critical thinking and one for empathetic thinking (Ma 258). By doing this, Ma is able to show his audience that his ideas are supported by highly respected intellectuals in the complex field of neuroscience. Ma continues to add logic to his argument through his discussion of equilibrium. Ma piggybacks on the widely-accepted idea that equilibrium is the key factor for the survival of all forms of life. He states that, “Evolution is the balance between stability and the changes necessary to cope with new challenges in the environment,” (Ma 259). Ma implies that this “balance” is necessary in all aspects of life, including cognitive reasoning. This argument is very perspicacious in the appeal that it incorporates such widely-accepted

He achieves this by relating his argumentive views to his audiences own personal believes. Ma does this when referring to the education of young people. Yo-Yo points out the fact that for many of us, education is often viewed from a negative light; it is seen as a requirement rather than a privilege. Another point he mentions is a person’s ability to deal with stressful situations in life, something everyone can relate to (Ma 259). By bringing up these common issues, the audience is able to better understand the point of view where Yo-Yo Ma is coming from, and relate to his argument on a higher level. Throughout this article, Yo-Yo Ma demonstrated his extensive knowledge on the subjects of art, education, and cognitive reasoning. Using ethos Ma displayed his ethical significance to the topic and the reliability of his sources and publisher. With the use of logos, he built up a strong stance backed up by fact and reason. Finally, by using pathos, Ma was able to relate to his audience, and give them a more personal perspective. With these tools, along with concise and stable layout, it is clear that Yo-Yo Ma was able to successfully gain the attention and support of his