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Background
Stephen Toulmin was a British philosopher born in London, England on March 22, 1922. Toulmin was well educated, receiving a bachelors in mathematics and physics from King College, later on earning his PhD at Cambridge University (The Gifford Lectures).He was appointed as a lecturer at Oxford University, later on moving around to different universities, including some in the U.S, and published several books. He continued teaching until retirement,and passed away on December 4, 2009 in California. -
Toulmin Method Continued
Three of the components in the Toulmin Model are vital to the argument, the claim, grounds, and warrant. These three factors allow the speaker to state their position, give context as to the reason for their position, and shows how they correlate. The next three components, the backing, qualifier, and rebuttal are useful as a means to make the argument stronger and further make the point known, as well as building more credibility to the speaker/writer (Purdue University). -
Toulmin Method
Toulmin is best known for his argument style called the Toulmin Method. In this method, he breaks down how to have an effective argument into six parts as follows: the claim, grounds,warrant, qualifier, rebuttal, and backing (Purdue University). This model was published in his 1958 book "The Uses of Argument" (Nordquist) where he goes into detail for each component. This method is meant for the writer/speaker to properly represent their point in a manner that backs up their stance. -
Contribution To Philosophy
Toulmin's contribution to philosophy is undoubtedly an important one. He was able to create a logical and effective form of argumentation that could replace deductive logic (Botting) and give credibility to whomever was making a claim through the use of backup information and context. This model is now widely used in several kinds of sciences, varying from mathematical, biological, and even social sciences. -
Toulmin Method Video Explantion
Dr. Hanlon from the University of Florida gives a quick rundown of how to use the Toulmin Method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaP5Y69D110
