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Author: David N. Stamos
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 143846391X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 604
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Book Description
Explores the science and creative process behind Poes cosmological treatise. In 1848, almost a year and a half before Edgar Allan Poe died at the age of forty, his book Eureka was published. In it, he weaved together his scientific speculations about the universe with his own literary theory, theology, and philosophy of science. Although Poe himself considered it to be his magnum opus, Eureka has mostly been overlooked or underappreciated, sometimes even to the point of being thought an elaborate hoax. Remarkably, however, in Eureka Poe anticipated at least nine major theories and developments in twentieth-century science, including the Big Bang theory, multiverse theory, and the solution to Olbers paradox. In this bookthe first devoted specifically to Poes science sideDavid N. Stamos, a philosopher of science, combines scientific background with analysis of Poes life and work to highlight the creative and scientific achievements of this text. He examines Poes literary theory, theology, and intellectual development, and then compares Poes understanding of science with that of scientists and philosophers from his own time to the present. Next, Stamos pieces together and clarifies Poes theory of scientific imagination, which he then attempts to update and defend by providing numerous case studies of eureka moments in modern science and by seeking insights from comparative biography and psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, and evolution. Edgar Allan Poe, Eureka, and Scientific Imagination is the most comprehensive treatment of Eureka that has yet been published. It is staggeringly thorough in its analysis of Poes book, but it also shows how Poes theories of cosmogony and cosmology ramify into his fiction and poetry, especially the tales of ratiocination. Stamos takes Eureka seriously, and he does so with the empirical undergirding of vast amounts of scientific scholarship and literary criticism. James M. Hutchisson, author of Poe
Author: David N. Stamos
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 143846391X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 604
Get Book Here
Book Description
Explores the science and creative process behind Poes cosmological treatise. In 1848, almost a year and a half before Edgar Allan Poe died at the age of forty, his book Eureka was published. In it, he weaved together his scientific speculations about the universe with his own literary theory, theology, and philosophy of science. Although Poe himself considered it to be his magnum opus, Eureka has mostly been overlooked or underappreciated, sometimes even to the point of being thought an elaborate hoax. Remarkably, however, in Eureka Poe anticipated at least nine major theories and developments in twentieth-century science, including the Big Bang theory, multiverse theory, and the solution to Olbers paradox. In this bookthe first devoted specifically to Poes science sideDavid N. Stamos, a philosopher of science, combines scientific background with analysis of Poes life and work to highlight the creative and scientific achievements of this text. He examines Poes literary theory, theology, and intellectual development, and then compares Poes understanding of science with that of scientists and philosophers from his own time to the present. Next, Stamos pieces together and clarifies Poes theory of scientific imagination, which he then attempts to update and defend by providing numerous case studies of eureka moments in modern science and by seeking insights from comparative biography and psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, and evolution. Edgar Allan Poe, Eureka, and Scientific Imagination is the most comprehensive treatment of Eureka that has yet been published. It is staggeringly thorough in its analysis of Poes book, but it also shows how Poes theories of cosmogony and cosmology ramify into his fiction and poetry, especially the tales of ratiocination. Stamos takes Eureka seriously, and he does so with the empirical undergirding of vast amounts of scientific scholarship and literary criticism. James M. Hutchisson, author of Poe
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Publisher:
ISBN: 3961892970
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 123
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Book Description
Eureka (1848) is a lengthy non-fiction work by American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) which he subtitled "A Prose Poem", though it has also been subtitled as "An Essay on the Material and Spiritual Universe". Adapted from a lecture he had presented, Eureka describes Poe's intuitive conception of the nature of the universe with no antecedent scientific work done to reach his conclusions. He also discusses man's relationship with God, whom he compares to an author. It is dedicated to the German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859). Though it is generally considered a literary work, some of Poe's ideas anticipate 20th century scientific discoveries and theories. Indeed a critical analysis of the scientific content of Eureka reveals a non-causal correspondence with modern cosmology due to the assumption of an evolving Universe, but excludes the anachronistic anticipation of relativistic concepts such as black holes. Eureka was received poorly in Poe's day and generally described as absurd, even by friends. Modern critics continue to debate the significance of Eureka and some doubt its seriousness, in part because of Poe's many incorrect assumptions and his comedic descriptions of well-known historical minds. It is presented as a poem, and many compare it with his fiction work, especially science fiction stories such as "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar". His attempts at discovering the truth also follow his own tradition of "ratiocination", a term used in his detective fiction tales. Poe's suggestion that the soul continues to thrive even after death also parallels with works in which characters reappear from beyond the grave such as "Ligeia". The essay is oddly transcendental, considering Poe's disdain for that movement. He considered it his greatest work and claimed it was more important than the discovery of gravity. Eureka is Poe's last major work and his longest non-fiction work at nearly 40,000 words in length.
Author: John Tresch
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374717443
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize | Finalist for the 2022 Edgar Award Winner of the 2021 Quinn Award An innovative biography of Edgar Allan Poe—highlighting his fascination and feuds with science. Decade after decade, Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the most popular American writers. He is beloved around the world for his pioneering detective fiction, tales of horror, and haunting, atmospheric verse. But what if there was another side to the man who wrote “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”? In The Reason for the Darkness of the Night, John Tresch offers a bold new biography of a writer whose short, tortured life continues to fascinate. Shining a spotlight on an era when the lines separating entertainment, speculation, and scientific inquiry were blurred, Tresch reveals Poe’s obsession with science and lifelong ambition to advance and question human knowledge. Even as he composed dazzling works of fiction, he remained an avid and often combative commentator on new discoveries, publishing and hustling in literary scenes that also hosted the era’s most prominent scientists, semi-scientists, and pseudo-intellectual rogues. As one newspaper put it, “Mr. Poe is not merely a man of science—not merely a poet—not merely a man of letters. He is all combined; and perhaps he is something more.” Taking us through his early training in mathematics and engineering at West Point and the tumultuous years that followed, Tresch shows that Poe lived, thought, and suffered surrounded by science—and that many of his most renowned and imaginative works can best be understood in its company. He cast doubt on perceived certainties even as he hungered for knowledge, and at the end of his life delivered a mind-bending lecture on the origins of the universe that would win the admiration of twentieth-century physicists. Pursuing extraordinary conjectures and a unique aesthetic vision, he remained a figure of explosive contradiction: he gleefully exposed the hoaxes of the era’s scientific fraudsters even as he perpetrated hoaxes himself. Tracing Poe’s hard and brilliant journey, The Reason for the Darkness of the Night is an essential new portrait of a writer whose life is synonymous with mystery and imagination—and an entertaining, erudite tour of the world of American science just as it was beginning to come into its own.
Author: Lynda Walsh
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 0791468771
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310
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Book Description
Recounts the fake news stories, written from 1830 to 1880, about scientific and technological discoveries, and the effect these hoaxes had on readers and their trust in science.
Author: Harold Beaver
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141922060
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 541
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Book Description
One of the greatest of all horror writers, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) also composed pioneering tales that seized upon the scientific developments of an era marked by staggering change. In this collection of sixteen stories, he explores such wide-ranging contemporary themes as galvanism, time travel and resurrection of the dead. 'The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfall' relates a man's balloon journey to the moon with a combination of scientific precision and astonishing fantasy. Elsewhere, the boundaries between horror and science are elegantly blurred in stories such as 'The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar', while the great essay 'Eureka' outlines Poe's own interpretation of the universe. Powerfully influential on later authors including Jules Verne, these works are essential reading for anyone wishing to trace the genealogy of science fiction, or to understand the complexity of Poe's own creative vision
Author: Harry Lee Poe
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781602583221
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Presents a critical analysis of Poe's body of work as a concern with universal themes, exploring the presence of evil, the meaning of suffering, the role of justice, and the search for love and God.
Author: J. Gerald Kennedy
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190641878
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 881
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Book Description
This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online.
Author: Paul Collins
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0544261879
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 145
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Book Description
A view into the tumultuous and creative life of Edgar Allan Poe.
Author: William A. Gorton
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791482219
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 160
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Book Description
This is the first book-length exploration of Karl Popper's often-neglected contributions to the philosophy of social science. William A. Gorton situates Popper's ideas on social inquiry within the broader framework of his thought, including his philosophy of natural science, his ontological theories, and his political thought. Gorton places special attention on Popper's theory of situational analysis and how it aims to heighten our understanding of the social world by untangling the complex web of human interaction that produces unintended—and often unwanted—social phenomena. Situational analysis, Gorton contends, involves a significant departure from the method of the natural sciences, despite Popper's plea for the unity of scientific method. Gorton also addresses some common misconceptions concerning Popper's stance toward economics and Marxism, making the provocative claim that contemporary analytical Marxism provides the best current example of Popperian social science put into practice.
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350181285
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 416
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Book Description
This collection brings together more than fifty of Edgar Allan Poe's most important stories, poems, and critical writings, which established him as one of the most distinctive voices in American Literature, in a single accessible volume. Alongside annotated texts of each work, it also includes a complete Reader's Guide to Poe's work to help readers explore the contexts, style, and reception of his writing from his own time to today. An essential resource for students and teachers of Poe, this book includes stories such as 'The Fall of the House of Usher', 'The Tell-Tale Heart', and 'The Purloined Letter' as well as his Gothic narrative poem 'The Raven' and some of his most significant critical writings.
