Question

from the excerpt from the republic by plato. suppose then that we invite him to accompany us in our argument, and then we may hope to show him that there is nothing peculiar in the constitution of women which would affect them in the administration of the state. by all means. let us say to him: come now, and we will ask you a question—when you spoke of a nature gifted or not gifted in any respect, did you mean to say that one man will acquire a thing easily, another with difficulty; a little learning will lead the one to discover a great deal, whereas the other, after much study and application, no sooner learns than he forgets; or again, did you mean that the one has a body which is a good servant to his mind, while the body of the other is a hindrance to him?—would not these be the sort of which type of reasoning or device best supports the speaker’s claim that women are as qualified as men to manage the state?

• deductive reasoning, because the speaker explains how women make decisions
• deductive reasoning, because the speaker provides examples of how women are qualified
• kairos, because the speaker calls for immediate equality for women in government
• ethos, because the speaker describes the women he thinks deserve to be leaders

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• First option: Deductive reasoning starts with a general principle. The speaker here is not explaining how women make decisions (which would be more about inductive or descriptive), so this is incorrect.
• Second option: Deductive reasoning uses general principles to reach a conclusion. But the speaker is not providing examples here; they are using a logical structure about natural gifts, not examples of women's qualifications. So this is incorrect.
• Third option: Kairos is about the right time for an argument. The speaker is not calling for immediate equality but rather using a logical approach. So this is incorrect.
• Fourth option: Ethos is about establishing credibility or character, and here the speaker describes the women (their natural gifts, learning abilities) to show they deserve to be leaders, which is using ethos to support the claim that women are qualified to manage the state.

Answer:

D. ethos, because the speaker describes the women he thinks deserve to be leaders