Albert Einstein

I think Albert Einstein's letter to Phyllis Wright, the sixth-grade student who asked him whether or not scientists pray, is rhetorically effective. The subject of the letter is how Albert Einstein viewed supernatural beings, like whether he believed in their existence or not. The speaker is the renowned scientist who is responsible for the theory of relativity and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921, Albert Einstein himself. The audience is a sixth-grade student that is curious about how scientists view god or any other supernatural beings. Einstein's purpose of the letter is to inform Phyllis on his opinions of scientific study and how if someone is serious in the pursuit of science, then they will be convinced of a great spirit above the laws. He starts the letter Einstein establishes ethos quite simply because he is a famous and intelligent scientist and as I said, he developed the theory of relativity and won a Nobel Prize in Physics. This gives him strong credibility to prove his intepretations and beliefs on the subject, but his tone in the letter is very humble. For example, he said in the letter that: "However, it is admitted that our actual knowledge of these laws is only imperfect and fragmentary, so that, actually, the belief in the existence of basic all-embracing laws in Nature also rests on a sort of faith." Despite his credibility, he does not use an arrogant tone, which allows the reader to have a sense of respect for him. He also doesn't directly say supernatural beings doesn't exist, in fact he believes that there is some sort of a higher intelligence controlling the systematic laws of nature.

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