CR's

Is true altruism possible? By Judith Lichtenberg

In “Is true altruism possible?” by Judith Lichtenberg there is a strong argument on the belief of true altruism being possible. Her argument is between altruism being pure and whole-hearted or if it is in fact for the gain of that individual. To support her argument she uses numerous examples of altruism like the Virginia Tech professor and the New York City sub way saving. But also she uses these arguments to not confuse altruism with sacrificing one’s own interest for others. By using these examples she is also tending to lean towards a very strong pathos appeal. When she uses diction like “sacrifice” and “selfish” the pathos appeal was clearly apparent. Also when she talks about egoism she is using an ethos appeal. She is showing her knowledge of the psychological path of altruism versus just examples.  

Lady Power by Nancy Bauer

In “Lady Power” by Nancy Bauer her main argument is on the timeless topic of feminism. She uses Lady Gaga to describe how feminism is used today in a negative way and in a strong way. The best line Bauer uses to describe her stand point is “if there’s anything that feminism has bequeathed to young women of means, it’s that power is their birthright”. Her pathos appeal was construed to me as being very harsh because she gets into very gritty examples of the “hook up-culture”. Her ethos appeal was harder for me to decipher. Since I already know she is an associate professor and her knowledge is significant on feministic topics I knew she was very credible. She uses examples like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir to convey her credibility.