Read the passage from "Optimism." How does Keller use evidence to address the
underlined counterclaim?
My life was without past or future, death, the pessimist
would say, "a consummation devoutly to be wished.”
But a little word from the fingers of another fell into my
hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped
to the rapture of living. Night fled before the day of
thought, and love and joy and hope came up in a
passion of obedience to knowledge.
O She suggests a hypothetical situation to illustrate
how dark life would be without the benefit of
optimism.
O She uses an example from her own life to illustrate
why she is able to be optimistic despite her
circumstances.
O She explains the facts of her physical limitations to
shed light on the importance of considering
pessimism.
O She cites a quotation from an expert to lend
credibility to the idea that pessimism sometimes has
its merits.
See