Rifkin Response

Finney 1

Jill Finney

RWS 100

Mr. Werry

29 August 2014

Rifkin, “A Change of Heart about Animals”

            In the article, “A Change of Heart about Animals”, by Jeremy Rifkin, he explains that animals are more like us than we could ever imagine. Rifkin makes claims, “They feel pain, suffer and experience stress, affection, excitement and even love”. Further into the article he also states, “Tool making and the development of sophisticated language skills are just two of many attributes we [humans] thought were exclusive to our species.” One of the last emphasis’ of his story is that of course humans must be different due to our ability to grief; “scientists have long believed that mourning for the dead represents the real divide [between humans and animals].”

            Throughout the paper, Rifkin backs up his many claims by using facts, quotes of scientists in the field, as well as examples of studies done with animals. This contributes to increased credibility of Rifkin. Not only does he present many forms of evidence to back up his ideas, but also presents these evidences in a particular way that intrigue the reader. His article has style and tone, many logical appeals, and an overall organization of ideas that being used together; create a successful paper. Speaking on a personal note, I myself was very intrigued by the article; I found what it was about to be very interesting due to Rifkin’s ability to include many different stories about animals as well as the studies that backed them up. I continued to read because it was just so interesting to me, not only reading because I had to.