Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2012

“No One Yet Knows What the Ultimate Consequences May Be”

Kenny Walker University of Arizona ; Lynda Walsh University of Nevada, Reno

Abstract

This article examines Rachel Carson’s assimilation and revision of scientific uncertainty in her sources, annotations, and drafts for Silent Spring. It argues that Carson’s emphasis on the special topos of uncertainty was not an original invention but instead was Carson’s contribution to an ongoing scientific and political conversation about uncertainty in 1962. Carson transformed this topos into a bridge across the is–ought divide in science-related policy making, using the uncertainty topos to invite the public to participate by supplying fears and values that would warrant proposals for limiting pesticide use. Carson’s adaptation of scientific uncertainty to environmental policy making provides a historical precedent for contemporary invocations of scientific uncertainty in debates surrounding global warming, nuclear power, cancer studies, and Gulf oil drilling. The methods that the authors use to trace the development of this special topos can also serve as a pattern for excavating the histories of other pivotal topoi in the rhetoric of American science and environmental policy.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2012-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651911421122
Open Access
Closed
Topics
race and writing revision

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Campeau (2022)
    Vaccination Double Bind: A Study of Pregnancy and COVID-19 Vaccine Decision-Making
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Roberts (2020)
    Commonplaces of Scientific Evidence in Environmental Discourses
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Graham et al. (2019)
    There’s No Such Thing as a Scientific Controversy
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Zerbe (2019)
    Paging Paul Krugman: Toward a <i>Topoi</i> of an Exemplar Public Intellectual i…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Walsh et al. (2016)
    Perspectives on Uncertainty for Technical Communication Scholars
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 8 →
  1. Walker (2016)
    Mapping the Contours of Translation: Visualized Un/Certainties in the Ozone Hol…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. DeVasto et al. (2016)
    Stasis and Matters of Concern
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Cagle et al. (2015)
    Climate Change Research Across Disciplines: The Value and Uses of Multidiscipli…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (12)

  1. Danisch (2010)
    Political Rhetoric in a World Risk Society
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Walsh (2010)
    Before Climategate: Visual strategies to integrate ethos across the “is/ought” …
    Poroi
  3. Journet (2010)
    The Resources of Ambiguity
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Walsh (2010)
    The Common Topoi of STEM Discourse: An Apologia and Methodological Proposal, Wi…
    Written Communication
  5. Walsh (2009)
    Marking Territory
    Written Communication
Show all 12 →
  1. Graham et al. (2005)
    The Rhetoric and Politics of Science in the Case of the Missouri River System
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Bryson (2003)
    Nature, Narrative, and the Scientist-Writer: Rachel Carson's and Loren Eiseley'…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Paul et al. (2001)
    Moving beyond the Moment
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. FAHNESTOCK et al. (1988)
    The Stases in Scientific and Literary Argument
    Written Communication
  5. Miller (1987)
    Aristotle's “special topics”; in rhetorical practice and pedagogy
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  6. FAHNESTOCK (1986)
    Accommodating Science
    Written Communication
  7. Winterowd (1973)
    "Topics" and Levels in the Composing Process
    College English
Also cites 14 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 20 View in citation network →

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