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Stephen Edelston Toulmin was a British philosopher, author, and educator. Influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Toulmin devoted his works to the analysis of moral reasoning. Throughout his writings, he sought to develop practical arguments which can be used effectively in evaluating the ethics behind moral issues.
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Toulmin earns Bachelor of Arts degree from Cambridge University. During his time in college he developed his ideas.
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Earned his PhD in ethics at Cambridge University. After graduating from Cambridge, he was appointed University Lecturer in Philosophy of Science at Oxford University from 1949 to 1954.
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Toulmin was selected to be the university lecturer in the philosophy of science at Oxford University shortly after graduating from Cambridge. During his time as University Lecturer, he published his second book, The Philosophy of Science: and Introduction (1953).
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While at University of Leeds, he wrote one of his most influential books, The Uses of Argument (1958). Through this book the model of argumentation was created.
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Toulmin suggests that anthropologists have been tempted to side with relativists because they have noticed the influence of cultural variations on rational arguments; in other words, the anthropologist or relativist overemphasizes the importance of the “field-dependent” aspect of arguments, and becomes unaware of the “field-invariant” elements.
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From 1975 to 1978 Toulmin worked with the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects and Behavioral Research. He collaborated with biomedical ethicist and author Albert R. Jonsen, together they co-wrote The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning (1988).
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On 4 December 2009 Toulmin died of a heart failure at the age of 87 in Los Angeles, California.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Q9nszfOqw This is a short educational video on Stephen Toulmin.
