Jason Liebson

9/7/10
Einstein Letter Analysis

In order to thoroughly analyze the rhetorical strategies used by Albert Einstein in

his letter to Phyllis Wright, we must categorize specific parts of the letter under logos,
pathos, or ethos. Something else we must do is view the specific parts of the letter in
terms of subject, speaker, audience, context, and purpose.
Einstein begins his brief letter by letting Phyllis know that Einstein tried to
simplify his explanation. This is because Phyllis, Einsteins audience, was in sixth-grade
at the time of this letter. To begin the body of his letter, Einstein starts by establishing his
subject: scientific research. He uses his word, being a great scientist, as his ethos, or
credibility. Einstein then uses this ethos to create his first argument. He uses his
credibility to create a logical argument with a very simple tone so that his audience,
Phyllis, understand him. Einstein also uses a tone that makes him sound confident, but
not aggressively confident. The purpose if this argument is to answer the question posed
by Phyllis, which is about whether scientists pray, and if so, what they pray for.
Next, Einstein concedes to the existence of science and religion. By conceding,
he is able to create a stronger argument by showing that he has the capability of thinking
rationally. Also, this argument is also based on logos, but the argument itself is based on
pathos; Einstein reached his argument through logos, but the content of the argument
itself is based on pathos.

In the last paragraph, however, Einsteins diction becomes more academic and
sophisticated. This confused me because the context of the question is a difficult and
very advanced question, but the prompter is a sixth-grade student. This is where I felt
that Einstein severed his connection between himself and Phyllis in order to strengthen
the relationship between Einstein and the current subject, which at this point was the
relationship between scientific research and faith.
I felt that this severing of the relationship between Einstein and Phyllis was where
Einstein would have lost my attention, should I be the audience. This was because I felt
as if Einstein had already proven he has a strong connection between himself and the
subject. I may feel this way because I most likely know more about the author, Albert
Einstein, than the audience, Phyllis Wright. Because of my false judgment of the context,
I most likely read the passage and analyzed the rhetorical strategies used differently than
someone from the time, such as Phyllis Wright.
One last topic that I havent discussed yet is the relationship between Phyllis
Wright and the subject. I think that Phyllis is inquisitive when it comes to the subject, but
she does not know how to go about finding the answer to her question, so she sent this
letter to Albert Einstein in the first place.