The Science Fiction Of Edgar Allan Poe (1976) - Plot & Excerpts
Why I Almost Docked This Rating One Star Just For The Inclusion of “Eureka” And Why I Didn’t Follow Through With That, And Also Why This Book is Mistitled: A Review Of “The Science Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe”First, why I was so sorely tempted to give this volume 2 stars instead of the deserved three: “Eureka” is atrocious.Now, I know what you’re all going to say (or many of you, anyway). You’re going to say that it’s easy to look back in time nearly 200 years with our early-21st century perspective and criticize the level of scientific knowledge/understanding of a poet. And you’re right. It is easy – too easy. But the total and complete lack of understanding of the scientific method, of the aims and objectives of scientific research, and of the foundations of scientific thinking are NOT why I was tempted to dock this book one star.See, it is one thing to be scientifically illiterate -and make no mistake: even for the period in which he lived, Poe was scientifically illiterate. To know some few facts, to be able to drop a name (be it of a person or of a theory), to understand the two and two will always equal four: these do not count as scientific literacy, any more than being able to tell the difference between a rap song and a tin pan alley ditty makes one musically literate. In order to be considered scientifically literate one must understand what it is that science is, what it does and can do and can not do, its goals and aims, or to some up, the context in which the scientific enterprise takes place. Poe displays none of this. He rails against what he considers to be the scientists “two paths to knowledge,” induction and deduction, as though those two words taken in and of themselves can somehow encapsulate the totality of scientific thought. Yes, I agree that these two words can be used as basic, high-level descriptors of the ways we come to consider a statement to be true or to be a fact, but in and of themselves they say nothing. He mocks the great minds of his time and of the past, those who, while definitely fallible (as all science is, another thing lost on Poe), accomplished far more in the realm of science than he ever accomplished in the realm of poetry. Then, the topper: he states that he will replace both deduction and induction with – wait, this’ll have you over-the-barrel-laughing: INTUITON! Yes! That fabulous intuition of ours which, though it may be argued has kept the human race alive for several eons, is by definition antithetical to the concept of truth. That way of thinking which can only lead to trial-and-error attempts at discovering something which may closely enough resemble the truth as to net get us killed! And not just any intuition – no, HIS intuition! HE is the only human being alive who can intuit the TRUTH! Why? Because he’s a freaking poet, of course! Does this make any sense (deductive, inductive, or intuitive, or otherwise) to anyone?Then, after he explains WHY we should believe what he says, we get on to the meat of the matter. The spoiled, rotting, fat-filled, empty-calorie-laden meat. This isn’t science, folks: this is theology. His explanation of god’s plan for the universe, basted with a thin veneer of names and words. The entire thing makes no sense whatsoever.Now, I don’t want to hear “It’s satire! He didn’t really mean it!” Bullshit. He most definitely meant it. That he begins the essay with a satirical message-in-a-bottle-from-the-future introduction does nothing to diminish the earnestness of his exposition. And, though it is satirical, there is nothing in that introduction to lead us to believe that what follows is meant to be satirical. No, the introduction satirizes science, that thing which he does not understand. The introduction reinforces the thoughts expressed in the essay, it does not belie them.Nor do I want to hear “But he was RIGHT on some things! Black holes and the expanding universe and blah and blah and blah!” No, he wasn’t right on anything. That some of the things he says can be compared in some way to true scientific ideas means nothing more than saying “Well, the big bang was god saying let there be light!” Balderdash. Pure, utter, total, and complete balderdash. On a side note, the editors of this volume hint at this way of thinking, even though they do not come right out and say it. They are wrong, and seem to be as scientifically illiterate as Poe.Poe comes across as a bitter, weak man who knows he has failed to be what he wanted to be and insanely insists and acting the part that others may actually see him this way. Yes, I lost respect for Poe on reading this.So, why DIDN’T I dock this review one star for the inclusion of “Eureka”?Well, because I’m glad it’s in here. And I’m glad I read it. It helped me solve a thirty year-old mystery.Or approximately thirty years, anyway. See, it was about that long ago that I first became acquainted with Poe. I don’t remember which I read first, “The Tell-Tale Heart” or “A Cask of Amontillado,” but it was definitely Amontillado which had the greater effect on me. I had grown up reading a lot of SF and a slap-dash of fantasy, but I had never read any horror. This Poe guy intrigued me, and I sought out and read many of his stories (including most of those included in this volume). I read that Poe was the inventor of the modern short story, and I still see that, though I think “inventor” is perhaps too strong a word. I read that Poe created the modern horror and mystery genres, and I still see that, though I think “created” is perhaps too strong a word. I also read that he created the modern SF genre. But I never saw that. I could not understand why these stories were considered to be integral to the development of SF. As an avid reader of SF, this has bugged me for three decades. What was I missing?And now I know: I was missing NOTHING. The truth of the matter is that Poe did NOT create the genre of SF. Nothing he wrote, this volume inclusive, can be considered SF. I know the literary theorists will say I’m wrong, the Poe fan-boys-and-girls will claim I have no idea what I’m talking about, the professors and the text books will roll their eyes and their pages, but I’m right.SF developed out of gothic literature by turning from the supernatural to the natural. Whereas gothic literature saw horror in the world and blamed this on supernatural causes, SF began to begin when Shelley looked at the horror and say completely natural causes. Later writers then realized that if the causes of things in the world were natural (or existential) and not supernatural (or metaphysical), then we could harness these causes and create not horror but progress. This progress may carry with it its own variety of horror, but the horror will be due to the way we interact with the natural world. There’s still room for gods and magic in SF, in a way, but even these gods and this magic will obey natural laws.Poe will have none of that. Poe is a regressive writer, attempting to turn the outlook of the human race backwards to the gothic. He can not let go of his supernatural, and “Eureka,” while not explaining that in any real sense, exemplifies it. Perhaps it was his own psychological demons that caused him to confront the world on a metaphysical plane, but those demons themselves were natural.This book is misnamed. Poe wrote no science fiction.
This book is an interesting insight into the period when "science fiction" was still forming. As such, I feel very guilty about giving up on it - it certainly isn't terrible, and some of the concepts are very interesting, I simply find (and have always found) Poe's writing style hard going. I managed "MS. Found in a Bottle", "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion", "A Descent into the Maelström", and "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall". The dense writing style is not helped by the rather stuffy endnotes in this collection; a short introduction or addendum to to each item explaining the scientific context would be more helpful (for example, recent fiction and public beliefs about ways to travel to the moon for "Hans Pfall", or the belief in Hollow Earth theory at the time of "MS. Found in a Bottle"), as well as footnotes translating the occasional French or Latin quotations.
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