-
Birth
Stephen Edelston Toulmin was born March 25, 1922 in London, England. -
WW2
During WW2 Stephen worked as a scientific officer with the Ministry of Aircraft Production. During that time he was stationed to the Malvern radar research center. After that he was sent to Germany to the Allied headquarters. -
Cambridge
In 1948 Toulmin studied and earned a PhD in ethics at Cambridge University in England. While there he studied under John Wisdom and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Those two greatly influenced his career and future accomplishments. -
Teaching Career
In 1949 Stephen Toulmin started his extensive teaching career. He taught at many highly ranking institutes. Oxford University, the University of Melbourne (Australia), Leeds University, New York University, Columbia University, Stanford University, Hebrew University (Jerusalem), the University of London, Brandeis University, Michigan State, the University of California in Santa Cruz, and the University of Southern California. -
Achievements
Starting in 1950 Toulmin went on to publish many books on his findings and theories. Including, The Place of Reason in Ethics (1950) The Uses of Argument (1958); Philosophy of Science (1953); Foresight and Understanding (1960); The Architecture of Matter (co-authored, 1963); The Discovery of Time (1965); Human Understanding (1972); Knowing and Acting (1976); Physical Reality: Philosophical Essays on 20th Century Physics (1970); The Return to Cosmology (1982). He also helped co-write a few books. -
Practical argument
Toulmin published his Argument Model he identified six elements of a persuasive argument: claim, grounds, arrant, backing, qualifier and lastly rebuttal. He claimed a new type of argument called Practical Argument. This is were he challenged other philosophers to apply their theories to arguments about real world problems in the ethical community. Attached is an outline.
(https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/historical_perspectives_on_argumentation/toulmin_argument.html) -
Published books
In 1990, he published two books that majorly affected his career, Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity and co-authored with Albert R. Jonsen on The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning -
Death
On December 4th 2009 Toulmin died in Los Angeles California at the age of 87. He is survived by his fourth wife Donna, his children Greg Toulmin, Polly Macinnes, Camilla Toulmin, and Matthew Toulmin. He also has 13 grandchildren.