The two authors “Seth Shostak” and “John M Logsdon” have used different strategies to prove their points to the audience. Their articles have provided different points with regards to the importance of human space exploration which is the purpose of the two articles. Readers of articles always find different reasons to believe stories provided by the authors. In this paper, I will be comparing the rhetorical strategies used in Seth Shostak’s article and John M. Logsdon’s articles. The paper also looks at the writer who was able to accomplish the persuasive purpose of the article written (“Is Manned Spaceflight Obsolete?”).
Analysis
The authors are looking at the different views of space exploration in a bid to win the attention of the trust and belief from the audience. According to the articles, the purpose of the authors is to persuade the audience about the importance of human space exploration compared to robotic exploration. The article by Seth Shostak explores the reasons for the historic journey to the moon and the space. According to the article, the author finds that it is important for the readers to understand the importance of human exploration as compared to robotic exploration in space and the moon.
The author of the article “Why Hominids and Space Go Together” looks at the way in which the audience can be convinced about the importance of the man exploring the space. The author presents three important reasons why the exploration by man is important compared to the exploration by robots. The author has provided credible information about space exploration and mood exploration. The credibility of the information used is sufficient to convince the users of the information on the important of human exploration. For example, the author looks at the fact that, robots are unable to do better than humans when it comes to exploration since they are using the human technology to explore. The argument is important in creating a comparison between the two subjects.
Seth Shostak looks at a way to ensure that the readers understand the importance of man in space. The author talks about the fact that humans would be better exploring if life would be supported in space. In this argument, the author looks at the possibility that in the future, the world will need an extra space where people will need to live. Space exploration would thus be important in identifying the possibility of human survival in space. The robots are unable to determine these facts (“Is Manned Spaceflight Obsolete?”). Arguably, it is necessary for human space exploration to determine the possibility of human survival. The argument by Shostak is important as necessary with regards to growing the trust and understanding from the readers. The sources used are credible and presented in a way in which the readers can understand easily.
The second author “John M Logsdon” uses different logic reasoning from what the first author used. According to this second article about American Patrimony, the author talks about the fact that America is a super power and it needs to take the world in the lead for space exploration through human exploration. The author thus uses the argument about the supremacy of the United States to convince the readers on the importance of the human space exploration to be conducted by the country. The information provided by the author is credible with regards to the supremacy of the United States in the world. It is thus easy for the audience to understand that, human space exploration is important for maintaining the reputation and superiority of the U.S. over all other countries.
Readers can easily be convinced through explanation about the importance of space exploration with regards to its history. The author uses the history of the United States to reinforce his argument to the readers of the article. The article talks about the support that President J.F. Kennedy provided to space exploration. The readers are likely to be convinced that the campaign for human space exploration is important as it helps grow a project that had been started earlier. Additionally, the author uses emotional appeals through the use of quotes from people and President J.F. Kennedy. The persuasive purposes of the two writers were to ensure that the readers are convinced that, human space exploration is important as compared to robotic exploration.
I find that Seth Shostak’s article “Why Homids and Space Go Together” important as it helped explain the importance of human exploration in the space. Shostak has worked on provided examples which are important with regards to identifying the importance of the mission. Seth Shostak’s article has, therefore, met the persuasive purpose which is important in gaining a wider audience in the society (“Is Manned Spaceflight Obsolete?”). On the other hand, the article, American Patrimony looks at the importance of the United States as a superpower in the world. According to the article, there is need for people to understand about space exploration to understand how the articles are used.
In conclusion, the two authors have presented their arguments about human space exploration. The manner in which the arguments are presented dictates the type of information that is acquired from the audience. Readers look at simple facts such as the convincing power of a person in the text and the need to continue reading the text. The paper has explored the two rhetorical arguments about space exploration and looked at the best argument that can convince the targeted audience. It has thus presented “Why Hominids and Space Go Together” as the best argument which has met the persuasive purpose of the article.
- “Is Manned Spaceflight Obsolete?”. Room for Debate. N.p., 2010. Web. 11 Sept. 2016. Retrieved from http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/is-manned-spaceflight-obsolete/
