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
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

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

References (66) · 8 in this index

  1. Aristotle
    The Rhetoric and Poetics of Aristotle
  2. Bazerman, Charles
    Shaping Written Knowledge
  3. Blakeslee, Ann M. “Inventing Scientific Discourse: Dimensions of Rhetorical Knowledge in Physics.” Diss. Carn…
  4. Bloor, David
    Knowledge and Social Imagery
  5. Butler, Christopher S.
    The Writing Scholar: Studies in Academic Discourse
Show all 66 →
  1. Charney, Davida
    Understanding Scientific Prose
  2. Close, Frank
    Too Hot to Handle: The Race for Cold Fusion
  3. Collins, Harry M.
    Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice
  4. Crawford, Mark (1989)
    10.1126/science.244.4904.522
    Science  ↗
  5. Crease, Robert P. (1989)
    New York Times Magazine
  6. Crismore, Avon
    The Writing Scholar: Studies in Academic Discourse
  7. Czubaroff, Jeanine
    Rhetoric in the Human Sciences
  8. Dagani, Ron
    Chemical and Engineering News
  9. 10.1021/cen-v067n017.p004
     ↗
  10. Dagani, Ron (1989)
    Chemical and Engineering News
  11. 10.1021/cen-v067n014.p004
     ↗
  12. 10.1021/cen-v067n018.p006
     ↗
  13. (1992)
    New York Times
  14. FAHNESTOCK (1986)
    Accommodating Science: The Rhetorical Life of Scientific Facts
    Written Communication
  15. Fahnestock, Jeanne
    Argument in Transition
  16. FAHNESTOCK et al. (1988)
    The Stases in Scientific and Literary Argument
    Written Communication
  17. Fahnestock, Jeanne
    Oldspeak/Newspeak: Rhetorical Transformations
  18. 10.1016/0022-0728(89)80006-3
     ↗
  19. Gieryn, Thomas
    The Social Dimensions of Science
  20. Gilbert, G. Nigel
    Opening Pandora's Box: A Sociological Analysis of Scientists' Discourse
  21. Gross, Alan
    “Building Neo-Aristotelian Theory: The Cold-Fusion Controversy as a Test Case.”
  22. Gross, Alan (1988)
    Pretext
  23. Gross (1993)
    Experiment as text: The limits of literary analysis
    Rhetoric Review
  24. Huizenga, John R. (1992)
    Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy
  25. Hultzen, Lee
    The Rhetorical Idiom: Essays in Rhetoric
  26. 10.2307/356373
     ↗
  27. 10.2307/357680
     ↗
  28. Keith, William
    Rhetoric in the Human Sciences
  29. 10.1080/10417949209372863
     ↗
  30. Knorr-Cetina, Karin
    The Manufacture of Knowledge: An Essay on the Constructivist and Contextual Nature of Science
  31. 10.1126/science.244.4906.753
     ↗
  32. Latour, Bruno
    Laboratory Life: The Social Construction of Scientific Facts
  33. Lewenstein, Bruce (1992)
    Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy
  34. 10.1038/340525a0
     ↗
  35. 10.1080/15295039009360159
     ↗
  36. 10.1038/338701a0
     ↗
  37. 10.1086/286513
     ↗
  38. Merton, Robert K. (1942)
    Journal of Legal and Political Sociology
  39. Mitroff, Ian I.
    The Subjective Side of Science: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Psychology of the Apollo…
  40. Morrison, Douglas R. O. (1990)
    10.1088/2058-7058/3/2/29
    Physics World  ↗
  41. MYERS (1985)
    The Social Construction of Two Biologists' Proposals
    Written Communication
  42. Peters, John
    Rhetoric in the Human Sciences
  43. Pinch (1994)
    Cold fusion and the sociology of scientific knowledge
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  44. Pool, Robert (1989)
    10.1126/science.244.4903.420.a
    Science  ↗
  45. Pool, Robert (1989)
    10.1126/science.244.4905.647
    Science  ↗
  46. Prelli, Lawrence
    A Rhetoric of Science: Inventing Scientific Discourse
  47. Prelli, Lawrence
    Rhetoric in the Human Sciences
  48. Richards, I. A.
    The Philosophy of Rhetoric
  49. Rymer, Jone
    Writing in Academic Disciplines
  50. Sanders, Robert
    The Rhetorical Turn
  51. Schuster, John A.
    The Politics and Rhetoric of Scientific Method: Historical Studies
  52. Simons, Herbert W.
    Rhetoric in the Human Sciences
  53. Simons, Herbert W.
    The Rhetorical Turn
  54. Smith, Douglas (1989)
    Engineering and Science
  55. SULLIVAN (1991)
    The Epideictic Rhetoric of Science
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  56. Taylor, Charles A. (1994)
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  57. THOMPSON (1993)
    Arguing for Experimental “Facts” in Science: A Study of Research Article Result…
    Written Communication
  58. Toulmin, Stephen
    The Uses of Argument
  59. 10.1038/342375a0
     ↗
  60. Winsor (1990)
    The Construction of Knowledge in Organizations: Asking the Right Questions abou…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  61. 10.1021/cen-v067n020.p005a
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 2 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Res Rhetorica Apr 2026
    Logos in ancient Greek discourse on rhetoric: An overview ↗
    Arkadiusz Sokolnicki
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    Canon to Code: Rhetorical Rulemaking for Generative AI Content Audits and Governance ↗
    Miriam F. Williams
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism assessment technical communication artificial intelligence
  3. Poroi Feb 2026
    Using Stasis Theory as a Heuristic for Examining Epistemological Dilemmas in a Post-Truth Landscape ↗
    Bruce Bowles
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  4. Res Rhetorica Jan 2026
    Ethos – between vir bonus and VIA: Virtue ethics in contemporary rhetorical education ↗
    Agnieszka Budzyńska-Daca
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory argument
  5. Rhetorica Jan 2026
    The Daimonion of Isocrates: Anti-Socratic Polemics and the Power of Politikoi Logoi in the Philippos ↗
    Tobias Hirsch
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument