Stephen Toulmin: 1922-2009

By jkiser59

  • Birth

    Stephen Toulmin was born in London.
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    Military service

    Toulmin served in the Ministry of Aircraft Production during World War 2, which took place from 1939-1945.

  • Bachelor's degree

    Toulmin earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from Kings University in 1943.

  • PhD

    Toulmin earned his PhD in philosophy from Cambridge.
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    Lecturing at Oxford

    Toulmin lectured in philosophy at Oxford University from 1949 to 1954.

  • An Examination of the Place of Reason in Ethics

    Toulmin published his dissertation, titled An Examination of the Place of Reason in Ethics, in 1950. This focused on the reasons given for moral claims. Stephen Edelston Toulmin. An Examination of the Place of Reason in Ethics. CUP Archive.

  • The Philosophy of Science: an Introduction

    Toulmin published The Philosophy of Science: an Introduction in 1953. Stephen Edelston Toulmin. The Philosophy of Science : An Introduction. London, Hutchinson, 1953.
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    University of Leeds

    Toulmin was a professor and head of the philosophy department at Leeds University from 1955-1959.

  • The Uses of Argument

    Toulmin published his book The Uses of Argument in 1958. Despite not being well received in England, it was popular in the United States, and was influential in the field of rhetoric. This book introduced the Toulmin method of argument, which includes six components of argument (claim, grounds, warrant, backing, rebuttal, and qualifier). Stephen Edelston Toulim. The Uses of Argument. Cambridge England, Cambridge University Press, 1958.

  • Moved to the US

    Toulmin spend time in 1959 as a guest professor at New York University, Stanford, and Columbia. He relocated officially to the United States in 1965.

  • Human Understanding: The Collective Use and Evolution of Concepts

    Human Understanding: The Collective Use and Evolution of Concepts was published in 1972. In this book Toulmin examined conceptual change, its causes, and its processes. Stephen Edelston Toulmin. Human Understanding. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1972.
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    National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research

    Toulmin worked with this government organization from 1975 to 1978.

  • The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning

    Toulmin and Albert Jonsen wrote The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning in 1988. In this book they demonstrate processes for resolving moral cases. Jonsen, Albert R, and Stephen Edelston Toulmin. The Abuse of Casuistry : A History of Moral Reasoning. Berkeley, Univ. Of California Press, 1988.

  • Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity

    Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity was written in 1990 and criticizes the use and morality of modern science. Stephen Edelston Toulmin. Cosmopolis : The Hidden Agenda of Modernity. Chicago, Univ. Of Chicago Press, 1990.

  • Death

    Toulmin died in California on December 4, 2009 at 87 years old.