The role and status of writing in scientific practice have become
central concerns in the
history and philosophy of science. Investigations into the rhetoric of
scientific texts, the
‘language games’ of calculation, experimentation and
proof, and the uses of textbooks,
reports and specialized journals in the formation of scientific
communities have all brought
a growing awareness of what the American author Edgar Allan Poe
(1809–49) heralded as
‘The Power of Words’. In discussing several works of this
author, who perhaps more than
any of his ‘literary’ contemporaries grappled with the
growing dominance of science and
technology in his time, this paper shows the potential ambiguity and
polyvalence of the
rhetoric of science. Poe's writings exploit this increasingly
powerful language in a variety
of ways: through logical proofs, satires, hoaxes, and the analysis of
mysteries, codes and
poetry, notably his own. Poe's unorthodox use of scientific
rhetoric highlights the
importance of historically specific modes of discourse for the
consolidation of truth.