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Abbie Price

Ms. Oda

English 1010

22 November 2022

Mindfulness or Selfishness

In today's day in age, finding ones, “inner peace,” is the new trend. By focusing on one

subject, you, the mind is opened, becoming calm and considerate, or in other words, becoming

mindful. In the article, “Mindfulness Would be Good for You. If it Weren’t so Selfish” by Thomas

Joiner, he states that mindfulness is selfish. Joiner shows ethos by mentioning his credibility. He

includes pathos by making you feel guilty about being mindful. Throughout the article, he does not

use any facts to back up his claims which does not appeal to logos. Two of the three rhetorical

devices are in his article which strengthens his argument, however, by not using logos, his article

makes it weaker.

First, Joiner uses ethos by mentioning his line of work and uses strong vocabulary to

further his credibility in his intelligence. By stating his position as a psychologist and giving

specifics about his work it automatically gives him creditability. In this article, Joiner states,

“Mindfulness encroached in my field: psychology, and specifically the treatment of suicidal

behavior”(Joiner). Mentioning that he is a psychologist automatically gives credibility because he

went through the schooling to receive a PhD. Throughout the article, he mentions theories and

examples taught at a psychology convention he attended. He uses those examples to build up his

credibility thus, helping the reader understand that Joiner knows what he is talking about. His

vocabulary choice is unique, helping show his intelligence in the English language. He uses words

like, “ersatz,” “usurp,” “myriad,” “ephemeral,” and “narcissism,” which really captures one’s
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attention and not used in everyday conversation. They are unique and specific to his article. By

choosing these different words he does not run the risk of overusing a word. These words are

complex synonyms and using them makes us curious as to what these words really mean. Also, it

makes the article all the more interesting and stronger.

While Joiner is confusing the reader with his complex vocabulary, he also tries to pick at

their emotions by making them feel guilty about how/if they are being selfishly mindful. Thus,

making his audience feel they need to rethink their whole life. He brings up an excellent point of

how the world has changed the definition of mindful. “True mindfulness is being usurped by an

imposter, and the imposter is loud and strutting enough that it has replaced the original in many

people’s understanding of what mindfulness is,” (Joiner). This is stating that the world is

overshadowing what mindfulness truly means. He takes gross looking words and usues them

against the reader’s mind. Nobody wants to be fooled into thinking they are mindful for the wrong

reasons. He continues to say, “This ersatz version provides a vehicle for solipsism and an excuse

for self-indulgence. It trumpets its own glories, promising health and spiritual purity with trendiness

thrown in for the bargain. And yet it misunderstands human nature, while containing none of the

nobility, humility or utility of the true original,” (Joiner). After reading that, one would get this

sense of disappointment in oneself. The reader realizes that they’re not this mindful person, but

they’re actually selfish. With this realization, one would come to feel as if they need to change

because according to his definition, they’re not mindful. He is good at showing the truth and he

brings out this emotion of insecurity and guilt quite effortlessly.

Finally, Joiner doesn’t have any strong facts about how the world has changed the

definition of mindfulness. Throughout the article he states many sources but does not have statics

for any of them. For example, while he is quoting the Journal of Addiction Medicine he never
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brings up any facts from this article. Instead he says, “The intervention was a bit of a mishmash. It

involved mindfulness themes, such as attention and nonjudgmental acceptance, along with

meditation and activities such as “the creation of a glitter jar to settle the mind.” The mothers also

received feedback on how they interacted with their babies, and they learned about the impact of

trauma on parenting.” Throughout the entire article there is no one shredd of statics to help prove

his point. He uses examples of studies, but never lays down any numbers to support his claim. By

also using the many studies to “support” his claim, it makes the reader tired because they are long

studies that do not make his argument creditable and also making his article longer than nessesary.

In conclusion, Joiner did exceptionally well at writing this article using ethos and pathos,

but struggled with logos. He uses a variety of words that not only expands the readers vocabulary

but also teach about this topic. He grabs the readers attention and emotions by calling society out.

He also showed that he understood his topic but he did not use any good strong facts to back up

his claim. Lastly, his article started to get a bit boring because it lacked interest and veered of onto

tangents which were sometimes pointless.

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Works Cited

Joiner, Thomas. “Mindfulness Would Be Good for You. If It Weren't so Selfish.” The

Washington Post, WP Company, 25 Aug. 2017