Merryman 1

Lisa Merryman

Shampa Bhattacharyya

UN 2001: Assignment 2: Rhetorical Analysis

January 25, 2011

Lawrence Lessig writes The Future of Ideas with a purpose of informing and

educating the public of his ideas, rather than to persuade readers to think a certain

way. He believes in letting people make their own decisions, while making sure they

know as much background of the topic as possible. Lessig's main argument is that

at the rate that technology and the Internet are progressing, we will encounter a

future that consists of technology reestablishing control of us instead of continuing

with the current individual freedom that it provides. He is passionate and insistent

about the topic, urging readers to care about their technological future, what it has

to offer, and also the hindrance of it.

It is my understanding that this piece was written in recent years, targeting

the younger generations who would be affected by an increase of technological

control and those whose lives are currently surrounded by the Internet along with

other technologies. Lessig intends this information for the middle-class, upper-class

and those who have become consumed in technology. Those who would read this

article are searching for information on how technology is affecting human lives and

what the future holds for us. They search not for a specific answer, but for

education on the subject so that they may make their own hypotheses.

The language that Lessig uses is appropriate for the audience that he intends

it to. He writes as though these people do not know everything about technology,

but that it is still always around them, making the piece interesting. His writing is

simplistic and easy to understand. However, Lessig does not over simplify the piece.
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Finding that middle ground is very important and effective when trying to relate

with your audience.

Lessig points out two possible futures that our current use of technology

could lead us to. The first is a future like the present, where technology aids in

individual freedom. The second is where technology, specifically the Internet, turns

bad and becomes all about control. The Internet and technology will control us and

our actions, determining how we communicate and limiting our creativity, according

to Lessig (vii). To understand this issue, one must be familiar with current

technological advances including phones, laptops, and the Internet. Most of the

audience should know the advantages and disadvantages of different technical

devices well because most use these things for their primary source of

communication and research.

The context in which Lessig writes is of the modern era where so many

people rely on technology. He targets the American culture specifically, but his

argument could relate to any contemporary culture around the world. By American

culture, I mean technologically oriented with the Internet playing a huge role in

society. Lessig describes “free resources” and how things need to remain free to

use in order for creativity to still be present in current lives. Referring to the

copyright laws, Lessig writes, “Why would we burden the creative process—not just

film, but generally, and not just the arts, but innovation more broadly—with rules

that seem to have no connection to innovation and creativity?” (14). It is necessary

to understand what he means by this in order to be able to understand his

argument against technology.

Lessig tries to use reason to explain his arguments quite often. He cites

minimal sources in his paper, trying to relate with his audience instead and making
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them understand his logic about what technology will do to our culture. “Though I

don’t (yet) believe this view of America Online (AOL), it is the most cynical image of

Time Warner’s marriage to AOL: the forging of an estate of large-scale networks

with power over users to an estate dedicated to almost perfect control over

content.” (Lessig, 7). In this quote he states his opinion and also provides a counter-

opinion, but does not back it up with fact. He also attempts to use an emotional

appeal to engage the reader. Lessig writes, “But we do have a history to show that

there is something important here to understand.” (15). Lessig does not use the

expected pull of heart-felt emotion, but he pulls more at the underlying conscience

of people to make them feel like they owe it to their culture and themselves to

change that technology is taking control.

The writer’s specific argument is not very effective. He barely uses facts to

support his hypothesis, but just uses logic. Logic only gets you so far. His argument

could be made stronger if he used more evidence and fact, so that the audience

would be more likely to believe what he is saying. Specifically, Lessig could make is

points stronger when he talks about copyright laws and free variables. If he were to

quote specific laws or examples, his argument would be credited and, therefore,

more effective. However; considering that the goal of the piece is to inform people

about the rising circumstances and to educate about them, he does a good job. He

makes known what his opinion is, while still making sure to support both arguments

so the audience can have enough information to decide for themselves.

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Works Cited

Lessig, Lawrence. The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected
World. New York: Random House Inc, 2001. Print.

Weida, Stacy, and Karl Stolley. “Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion.” Purdue
OWL. The Writing Lab, The OWL at Purdue, and Purdue University, 13 July 2011.
Web. 24 Jan 2011.
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Lisa Merryman

Shampa Bhattacharyya

UN 2001 Assignment 2: Reflection Paper

January 25, 2011

In order to create a rhetorical analysis on this piece, I analyzed the six main

aspects of the rhetorical situation: writer, purpose, audience, topic, context and

culture. The purpose, context, and topic is easy to get straight from the text, but

information about the writer and the audience required me to infer their feelings

and motives based on the style of writing and the culture. I thought this essay by

Lessig was very well thought out, and that he had a lot of arguments for both

“futures” that could arise. However; I think that his argument could have been

stronger with more hard evidence (researched fact) but it was still very informative

and relatable. From this assignment I learned about the rhetorical situation and how

it is prevalent in every piece of writing. There is always an author, purpose and

audience and it is of utmost importance to consider your audience as you write so

that they may relate to your argument. I also learned that context and culture play

a large role in how a writer writes and how the piece is interpreted. If a piece is
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written in the appropriate context and towards the appropriate culture, it is usually

received in a more positive manner.