An Analysis of The Stem Cell Debates
by Adam Karsten
As one of the most important scientific discoveries in the world, stem cells have emerged as starting a new era of medicine for humanity. The countless number of uses has caused a frenzy of scientific experimentations to help cure malignant diseases that plague our world. The biggest issue however with these small organisms is how they are acquired. The practice of stem cell research is seen as unethical by many due to the fact that they are taken from aborted fetuses. After many sanctions and withdrawals of government funding, the Witherspoon Council, a group of scientists who deem certain experiments as ethical or not, released a report that addresses the ethical grounds of such research and to convince those against the study of stem cells. With the use of persuasive writing through evidence and the ability to firmly drive their argument towards their readers, the Witherspoon Council was able to craft an intricate argument for the use of Stem Cells in research. The rhetorical strategies to logically back their arguments make their writing more trustworthy and ultimately leads to a better case for their cause.
The Stem Cell Debates was written for the primary purpose of convincing the public and important leaders about the misconceptions and ethics of stem cell research. This type of piece was created to influence a variety of people, but it primarily caters to those against stem cell research. This attitude is shown right from the start where the Council states “the meeting is focused on the recent recommendation….that the federal government should fund a range of research involving human embryos.”(1,Witherspoon). This gives the reader an instant understanding of the stance of the author and what point is trying to get through. There isn’t any rhetorical strategies behind it, they just get straight to the point. This is done again in the next paragraph where the author explains that the public focuses on the moral issue without understanding the actual use of the stem cells (1,Witherspoon). The “extremely high level of public ignorance” is what this report wants to try and fix so that stem cells are more likely to be supported by the public. With this in mind the author then uses a number of rhetorical strategies to meet their goal.
The rhetorical strategy that is most used and most successful in this report is the appeal to logic or logos. This is a very important strategy that is used in this field because in order to get your point across to your peers, your argument has to have support that is factual and sound in order to even be looked at. Even though this is true for most rhetorical pieces, it is especially important for this report. If the reader who is perceived to be “extremely ignorant” doesn’t understand what is being said, or is unable to connect the dots, opinions are less likely to change. With an argument that involves aborted fetuses people will be exceedingly stubborn and must be coerced into believing what you're saying is true. For example, the Witherspoon Council addresses those who may be critical of embryonic stem cell research by stating that “theses critics have unfairly downplayed the promise of ES cell research, belittling it as “wishful thinking and hype” (9,Witherspoon). The significance of this is that in the paragraphs before they address the numerous uses of stem cells from the ability to treat leukemia and HIV to the ability to use the cells to study diseases at a deeper level (9,Witherspoon). All this is backed by actual research and implementation of stem cells to combat those diseases. They proved them wrong. The author addresses this in order to reach out to the public. The writing style is not complex, it simplifies the results and allows those who are not scientifically adept understand what has been otherwise seen as an incredibly complex topic to understand. Even though this paper is more geared towards politicians, these bits and pieces of simplicity allows the common person to create their own opinion on stem cell research. This is significant because the writer makes the more stem cell research favorable sections a lot easier to understand, making the reader lean towards the author's side. They morph the reader’s opinion. This then leads to a change in public perception of stem cells that is positive which then leads to a change at the political level because in politics the constituents are always right. The author is still maintaining his report to be read by the federal government, but the little bits and pieces that are reaching the common person are significant all the same.
This report definitely highlights how a speech should be written in the field of microbiology. It does a variety of things well. Such as relying heavily on the rhetorical strategy of logos while making the information simple to those who don’t understand it. While this paper does adhere to these guidelines, it can get very technical at times and there needs to be more pathos or appeal to emotion. This is significant because humanity today needs to find something to link itself with. What this means is that people want to be part of a group. Want to be on a side and have an opinion. This is seen today frequently on the internet where everyone gives their opinion no matter the subject. This type of strategy however has to be factual. If it is a fact that is eye-catching and give that “oh my god” kind of feel towards the reader, they will remember that fact and form an opinion around it. So if something like this was included in a paper whose audience is the public, the ability to use logic to explain your point to where it is relatable and simple while adding a bit of shock value here and there, it will be a very popular speech in the field of microbiology. If you are writing a speech to help bring change in the field of microbiology these are the types of strategies you want to follow.
The Stem Cell Debates is a strong example of a well written speech on a controversial subject such as stem cells. The Witherspoon Council is able to create this exquisite paper by using the rhetorical strategies of appeal to logic while making the speech cater to the public.
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