This article is an attempt to determine, from the viewpoint of the philosophy of education, what analytical thinking consists of. For this purpose, the author uses a literary text "Murders in the Rue Morgue", by Edgar Allan Poe, which examines step by step in his argumentative process. This study does not intend, therefore, to be a literary essay on Poe's narrative, nor a mere psychological description of a fictional character like Auguste Dupin.
Starting from a first notion of what analytical thought is, the author attempts, upon following Poe's story, to clarify the process of analytical thinking. This process will be followed throughout the literary scene inhabited by Poe's detective, Auguste Dupin. The author will occasionally mention other stories by the North American writer.