Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 1995

Transmuting Common Substances: The Cold Fusion Controversy and the Rhetoric of Science

BRAD THACKER ; JAMES F. STRATMAN

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between forensic, deliberative, and epideictic modes of rhetoric in the cold fusion controversy. The purpose of this exploration is threefold: (a) to show the interactions between these three modes of rhetoric more comprehensively than they have been shown in previous case studies of scientific controversies; (b) to examine the ways in which all three modes have shaped the emerging scientific consensus and, further, through a close analysis of key experimental reports, to reveal how forensic rhetoric in the cold fusion controversy has come to occupy pride of place; and (c) to suggest how the events in this controversy support Robert Sanders's contention that rhetorical practices interact with scientific practices to allow diverse researchers to arrive at constructive agreements—not merely political ones—on both research findings and ways to resolve competing interpretations.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1995-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651995009004001
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
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Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Jackson (2010)
    Whatever Happened to the Cephalic Index? The Reality of Race and the Burden of Proof
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Zerbe et al. (1998)
    The Rhetoric of Fraud in Breast Cancer Trials: Manifestations in Medical Journa…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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