Einstein - Dear Phyllis Letter

In the letter that Einstein writes in 1936, the audience would be Phyllis, who is a sixth-grade student. The speaker would be Einstein himself, as he is the author of the letter. Einstein’s purpose of writing this letter is to respond to Phyllis Wright’s question of whether scientists pray, and what they would pray for. The exigence in this case would be the debate of whether or not science and religion are related. As for context, this was written on January 24, 1936, by Albert Einstein, one of the smartest and most prominent physicists to this day. Finally, his thesis is the fact that prayer is unlikely going to effect the outcome of events, but he admits that a supernatural probably exists, as we humans know only so much about the universe around us and why.

Einstein effectively uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to respond to Phyllis. Ethos automatically is built when Albert Einstein signs his name at the end of the letter, Even if one did not know who Einstein, one is able to conclude that Einstein is a academic researcher, which is shown by his choice of diction. He responds to Phyllis in a professional and organized manner, but he doesn’t use a lot of academic diction you would see in papers. Instead, he tunes the content so that the average person could understand what he’s talking about. As for Pathos, he chooses to use first-person pronouns, something that makes the letter feel more intimate and less like a paper. And finally, he uses Logos by conceding multiple claims, such as our actual knowledge of laws being imperfect and fragmentary.

If the response was to me or Wright’s parents, a more effective way would be to use more academic language and terms, as we are at the education level where we would understand these concepts. I also do believe that more logos could be incorporated, whether that be more in-depth responses or data (maybe even studies if that was a thing back in 1936)