Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies in The Stem Cell Debates: Lessons for Science and Politics

Appeals to Credibility or Character: "Historically, the federal government has provided considerable support for the scientific project. The classic articulation of postwar science policy in the United States is found in Vannevar Bush’s 1945 report to President Franklin Roosevelt, Science,  The Endless Frontier  In this influential report, Bush (no relation to President Bush) argued that government funding for science, particularly for what he dubbed “basic research,” was essential to ensuring that America continue to enjoy the technological progress necessary for the nation’s strength and prosperity."

     The author uses a reference to credible source in this quote to Appeal to credibility.  He uses this quote to show that he is very supportive of science being an endless frontier as said by Bush. This quote is one of many that shows the authors stance on science and what they view.  This strategy has a huge impact on the text because it is showing where the author stands.  Without it the author doesn't show there stance.

Appeals to Emotion: "Thus, ES cell research demands that we consider the moral status of the human embryo. Many proponents of ES cell research consider the human embryo to be merely a “clump of cells,” morally no different from any other bit of tissue. By contrast, many critics of ES cell research argue that the human embryo is a human being at a very early stage of development, and therefore possesses at least the right not to be killed for research or to be exploited as a medical resource."

  The part of the text that triggers the appeal to emotion strategy is the text of this quote.  The tone is very focused on human embryos and that phrase is focused on to make a point to the reader who may not agree with stem cells.  This repetition gets the readers attention because since this is the main argument those against stem cells have.  It is used to get that attention so that the author can present their argument for why they are wrong and should be on the side of pro-stem cell.  There are no visible fallacies that I can see.  The appeal to emotion works because it is able to attract the reader to focus on what may be the most important counter argument.




Appeal to Logic: "the U.S. government also came to recognize the importance of regulating scientific research, particularly biomedical and behavioral research conducted on human subjects. The horrific scientific experiments performed by Nazi doctors during the Second World War, along with other cruel and unethical experiments performed in the United States and around the world, clearly demonstrated the need for ethical oversight of scientific research. Governments around the world instituted policies on research ethics and the protection of human subjects, based on the principles articulated in such documents as the Nuremberg Code and the Belmont Report.^"

    The author uses this rhetorical strategy to try and get the reader to understand why there are a system of regulating scientific studies.  The author uses a mixture of historical records and reports from the experiments done by Nazi Scientists that were deemed inhumane and some were even tried for war crimes.  This use of logic backs up their reason for telling the reader the significance of what the author does which is overlooking the ethics of experiments.  The quote doesn't have any fallacies that are seen in the Student's Guide.  The final result of this strategy is that it works because the reader better understands what the author is trying to get at.