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Henry I Miller's 'Ignoring The Ignorant'

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Ignoring the Ignorant In the article “Ignoring the Ignorant”, Henry I Miller effectively persuades the members of the executive branch of the federal government on the serious threat that ignorance poses to society when it is allowed to influence public policy. The author makes a strong case that conveys the message that ignorance poses a serious threat to scientific, social and economic development when it is allowed to drive public policy by using a concession and rhetorical strategies such as Satire, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. In his article, Miller first sets the stage to persuade the members of the executive branch by stating that people have the right to be ignorant and goes on to ridicule the ignorants use of that free will and uses …show more content…

His sources include Economists, Polymaths, Epidemiologists and Studies and by citing these sources he adds weight to his own credibility while giving facts on the topic that he is arguing. One of the sources he used is British polymath Dick Taverne, who “warned that, “in the practice of medicine, popular approaches to farming and food, policies to reduce hunger and disease, and many other practical issues, there is an undercurrent of irrationality that threatens science-dependent progress, and even the civilized basis of our democracy.” A polymath is a person of wide-ranging knowledge, his use of people of such high standing and knowledge further validates his point, which helps in reaching the …show more content…

His use of pathos to appeal to the audience which is the executive branch of the government because politicians care about the public and the fact that policies always effect the public. He uses the quotation “For example, many who are preoccupied with family, school, work, and mortgages may not consider it cost-effective to sift through a mass of often-inconsistent data to understand, say, the risks and benefits of nuclear power, plasticizers in children’s toys, or the Mediterranean diet.” This sentence might play to some or all members emotions at the statement about “plasticizers in children’s toys” because some of them might be parents which is why they should make sure that the data released is correct and easy to attain which will decrease the amount of people who choose to remain ignorant ability to attempt to change public

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