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Date of Birth
In the year 1922, Stephen Toulmin was born in London. He studied philosophy at Cambridge University and obtained his doctorate in 1948. He began teaching in 1949 at 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, and Michigan State University. -
Graduated Cambridge University
Stephen Toulmin graduated from Cambridge University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He acquired his thoughts during his undergraduate years. -
Obtained His PhD in Ethics
In Cambridge University, he received his PhD in ethics. He was designated University Lecturer in Philosophy of Science at Oxford University between 1949 to 1954 after completing from Cambridge. -
Introduction to Philosophy of Science
Immediately after graduating from Cambridge, Toulmin was appointed as an university professor in the philosophy of science at Oxford University. He released his second book, The Philosophy of Science: An Introduction, while working as a University Lecturer (1953). -
Published The Use of Argument
His book The Uses of Argument was published in 1959. In this book, he criticized philosophy's conventional approach to rationalization as a one-size-fits-all approach. That inference isn't timeless or universal, and it must be applied differently depending on the information available. Conventional reasoning is a tool that isn't comprehensive. Before applying the same logic to different situations, you must first understand the wider picture. -
Published Understanding Human: The Collective Use and Evolution of Concepts
Stephen Toulmin claims that anthropologists have been persuaded to side with moral relativism since they have observed the impact of cultural differences on reasonable arguments; in other words, the anthropologist or relativist vastly overstates the field-dependent component of reasoning and overlooks the field-invariant aspects. -
A History of Moral Reasoning
Stephen Toulmin worked for the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects and Behavioral Research from 1975 to 1978. He partnered alongside Albert R. Jonsen, a biological ethicist and author, on The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning (1988). -
Awarded The Jefferson Lecture in Humanity
Stephen Toulmin was the 26th person to receive the United States government's highest prize for intellectual accomplishment in 1997. He gave a speech about "the necessity of dissent" during that time. -
Death
At the age of 87, Toulmin died of heart failure. He was widely regarded as the father of argumentation theory. He devised a system for analyzing arguments known simply as the Toulmin method. All arguments have six parts: the claim, the grounds, the warrants, the qualifier, the rebuttal, and the backing. -
References
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Stephen Edelston Toulmin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Nov. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-Edelston-Toulmin. Accessed 16 February 2022. Grimes, William. “Stephen Toulmin, a Philosopher and Educator, Dies at 87.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Dec. 2009, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/education/11toulmin.html.