Chimal 1

Christian Chimal

Professor Ditch

ENGL 115

29 September 2020

Rhetorical Strategies Are The Core Of An Argument?

Happiness is something that we can find from within ourselves. Studies through

Psychology, minimalism, and Buddhism have shown that happiness comes from the mind. In the

excerpts from the Dalai Lama, Howard Cutler, Graham Hill, and Sonia Lyubomirsky, the authors

discuss happiness from different perspectives such as psychological, spiritual, and minimalistic.

The authors use the rhetorical strategies Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to support their argument by

providing outside sources, research, and human hardship to make their writing more convincing.

The excerpt from Sonia Lyubomirsky has the strongest argument because of her research, public

data, personal study, and her interaction with the reader.

The authors establish credibility in different ways through their research, discussions,

data, and other sources they use in writing. In “How Happy Are You and Why,” Lyubomirsky

“draws on a wide range of scientific research to consider steps that individuals can take to

increase their level of happiness” (141). Lyubomirsky supports her argument by using multiple

sources of research other than her own. Sonia is a professor of psychology who has written many

articles and books about the pursuit of happiness. Lyubomirsky interviews three individuals

named Angela, Randy, and Shannon who grew up from different backgrounds. She also quotes

famous people like Aristotle, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Schulz offering different

interpretations they had on happiness. She includes studies about genes from the University of

Minnesota. She provides a chart from a source and cites her evidence. All of these sources
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contribute to her credibility as an author because she has a stronger support system than the other

authors. Meanwhile in “The Sources of Happiness” Cutler brings “together Buddhist spiritual

practice and western psychology” (21). Cutler supports his argument with research, friends, and

a monk who practices the mastery of mental equanimity. He is an American writer and

psychiatrist that interviews the Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader that promotes a life of compassion

and simplicity through books, lectures, and social media. The Dalai Lama talks about happiness

from a Buddhist perspective while Cutler questions him and writes about it. Cutler also

interviews two of his friends about their experiences and outlooks on life. Cutler mentions

research from the University of Wisconsin and the University of New York, where data was

collected from the public. Cutler’s credibility is compromised because he does research using his

friends rather than someone from the public. Cutler also has an interest in Buddhism and

Western psychology which makes his interview with the Dalai Lama seem biased. Then in

“Living with Less. A Lot Less,” Hill develops minimalist strategies and designs for living “with

less stuff, space, and energy” (308). Hill is a Canadian designer, journalist, and entrepreneur that

founded many enterprises. Hill talks about his experience with having many things of value after

selling his company. Hill mentions research from U.C.L.A. and Northwestern University. He

also mentions a report from The Natural Resources Defense Council about global consumerism

and how we affect the environment. Similar to Cutler’s argument, Hill specifically uses research

to connect to his point of interest. Hill is a minimalist and environmentalist that uses studies

specifically about the environment and people having much more than they need. In comparison

to the other excerpts, Lyubomirsky excels at establishing credibility through her writing. She

compliments her use of Ethos with more perspectives and research than Cutler, the Dalai Lama,

and Hill.
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The writers use research from different sources to support their reasoning and make a

sound argument. Lyubomirsky uses the most research out of the three excerpts. Her subjects

seem to be more varied and from different sources. Sonia offers a complete look of happiness

through public data, other researchers, and her studies. In Lyubomirsky’s excerpt, she interviews

three individuals from different backgrounds about their hardships and how their lives are going.

She interviews Angela and Randy who've had a troubling life and Shannon who grew up more

privileged. She also includes studies from behavior geneticists and other colleagues from the

University of Minnesota about the genetics of two identical twin sisters and how genes play a

role in happiness. She made charts and scales from her study and used data from Proper Insights

& Analytics about happiness in different generations. She backs up her argument by providing

data from other sources to support her research as a psychologist and writer. Her argument is the

strongest because her use of sources makes it more valid and convincing. Unlike in “The Sources

of Happiness,” Cutler only interviews two of his friends and the Dalai Lama. Cutler doesn’t

provide the names of his friends when he talks about their experiences and outlooks on life. He

provides research from the University of Wisconsin, where women from the public were shown

images of “harsh living conditions in Milwaukee” (Cutler and the Dalai Lama 23). The women

were asked to visualize themselves in the position of those in the pictures. He also includes

research from the University of New York where people were asked to do repetitive exercises

where they said something they wished to be and what they are glad not to be. The studies

showed when people reflect on those less fortunate they tend to be more satisfied with their lives.

Cutler supports his argument with his interview with the Dalai Lama and friends. He also

includes research from other sources about perception and how it influences happiness. Since

Cutler did not mention the names of his friends and writes specifically about the Dalai Lama’s
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interpretation of happiness, it makes his research questionable. He could have backed up his

argument by including a variety of research. In “Living with Less. A Lot Less.” Hill says, “It

took 15 years, a great love and a lot of travel to get rid of all the inessential things I had collected

and live a bigger, better, richer life with less” (308). Hill talks about the stress, work, anxiety,

and energy it took to own a bigger house and many valuable possessions. Hill is a minimalist that

has owned many enterprises and even sold a consultancy company that made him wealthy. He

mentions studies from U.C.L.A. researchers who observed 32 middle-class families and found

that all the mothers had high-stress hormone levels from dealing with their belongings. He also

mentions a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council about global consumerism and

how human activity is affecting the environment. Hill includes research from a psychologist at

Northwestern University who linked human consumption with problematic behavior patterns.

Hill supports his argument with the use of data from different sources to connect with his

minimalist lifestyle. Hill’s use of research could have been stronger when he mentioned only 32

middle-class families when there can be a bigger population of data. His use of sources can be

seen as one-sided because it all directly connects with being an environmentalist, minimalist, and

having less in life. Lyubomirsky’s use of Logos, compared to the other authors, is the strongest

because her data focuses on different factors of happiness, rather than just one or two. She uses

other studies and reflects on her own, ultimately creating a sound argument.

In writing, the authors appeal to the reader using emotional text to persuade their

audience that their argument is strong. In “How Happy Are You and Why?” Lyubomirsky

interviews Angela and Randy about their hardships in life. She talks about abuse, breast cancer,

suicide, divorce, and children (Lyubomirsky 180-181). Angela is a single mother who was

abused, divorced, lost her mother at a young age, and takes care of a child with no child support
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from the father. Randy had a divorce, lost his father, and his relationship with his mother was

affected by her boyfriend growing up. She also interviews Shannon who grew up in a stable

home and was fortunate enough to have a normal life. Lyubomirsky talks about how although

Angela and Randy experience hardships, they stay optimistic and make the best of their current

situation, while Shannon on the other hand seems to think negatively about her life.

Lyubomirsky appeals to the readers emotionally and supports her argument by providing three

different sources about their outlooks. She also connects to the reader emotionally by their own

experiences as a child and adult. Similarly Cutler in “The Sources of Happiness,” interviews two

of his friends about their experience and outlooks on life. Cutler talks to a female friend who is

very successful and was able to retire by the age of thirty. She talks about how she didn’t feel

any happier than she did before the wealth. Cutler also talks to a male friend who discovered he

has AIDS. The male friend says “it took me almost a year just to come to terms with the fact that

I had the virus” (21). Cutler supports his argument when he mentions his friend who had an

unfortunate health discovery. He could have made his appeal stronger by using more emotional

references rather than one. Unlike in “Living with Less. A Lot Less.” Hill mentions that

researchers from U.C.L.A. observed “32 middle-class Los Angeles families and found that all of

the mothers’ stress hormones spiked during the time they spent dealing with their belongings”

(310). Hill talks about how mothers are being impacted by the stuff they own. He also uses the

Natural Resources Defense Council which covers global consumerism and environmental issues

like the acidification of oceans, melting glaciers, and global temperature increase. Hill uses

mothers and the environment to appeal to the readers emotionally and support his argument

because he talks about families and factors that may lead to harming sea life and wildlife. Hill

can be seen as lacking in emotional appeal because he only uses two sources mentioning mothers
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and the environment but not including the possibility of animals being affected too. Lyubomirsky

excels the other two authors in emotionally appealing to the reader because she includes more

living situations and their hardships, as compared to the other excerpts.

In conclusion, Sonia Lyubomirsky demonstrates the best use of the rhetorical strategies

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Lyubomirsky provides many outside sources, research, and examples

of human hardship to make her writing the most convincing. In comparison to Hill, the Dalai

Lama, and Cutler, Lyubomirsky’s writing has the strongest support system of reliable sources,

valid arguments, and emotional appeal to the reader. She interacts with the reader with her scales

and reflects on other data, ultimately making her arguably the most persuasive. In writing it is

important to use a mix of rhetorical strategies and use them to support the argument. Sonia

Lyubomirsky is a great example of an author that uses the strategies to make a well structured,

balanced, and argumentative article.

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Works Cited

Cutler, Howard andHis Holiness the Dalai Lama. "The Sources of Happiness" Pursuing

Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight Reader Second Edition,edited by Parfit, Matthew and

Skorczewski, Dawn, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2019, pp. 21-32.

Hill, Graham. "Living with Less. A Lot Less." Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight Reader

Second Edition, edited by Parfit, Matthew and Skorczewski, Dawn, Bedford/St. Martin's,

2019, pp. 308-312.

Lyubomirsky, Sonia. "How Happy Are You and Why?" Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford

Spotlight Reader Second Edition, edited by Parfit, Matthew and Skorczewski, Dawn,

Bedford/St. Martin's, 2019, pp. 179-195.