Einstein Essay
Einstein’s Response Albert Einstein, a well-known physicist, wrote a letter to a 6th grade student, Phyllis Wright, in response to her question as to whether scientist pray, and if so, what they pray for. The reason she would have most likely be asking this question is probably because the world at the time is going through tough times such as The Depression and it also being post World War 1 era. Einstein’s response to Phyllis’s question was ineffective because it lacks ethos, pathos, and it did not give a straight forward answer to the question. The lack of ethos made the argument less effective because even though Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientists of the twentieth century, he did not show any credibility that he had towards the argument. Yes he might have won a Nobel Prize for Physics, but that does not mean he knows anything about religion, also being the only scientist responding to Phyllis’s question, Einstein does not necessarily have the correct answer because he does not give the point-of-view of the other scientists. Yes, Einstein was most likely one of the only known scientist at the time, and for that reason he would be the “go-to” guy, for this question, but that does not give him much credibility for this question. The lack of pathos made the argument less effective because he did not show any emotion towards the reader, Phyllis Wright. Einstein should have showed more compassion towards Phyllis because she was merely a 6th grader, not one of his colleagues. Yes, Einstein had many facts on why scientists may or may not pray, but by the way he worded the response, it seemed that he did not take into consideration that Phyllis was just a young girl. He also says that “a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by a prayer,” thus making it seem that there was no reason for Phyllis to even ask the question, thus making her feel like she just wasted his time asking him the