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Argument And Its Uses, J Anthony Blair
Argument And Its Uses, J Anthony Blair
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In the paper I propose conceptions of argument, of uses of argument, and of argumentation that rely upon the scholarly work of recent years, but map the concepts and their relations in a slightly different way. I contend that something like Toulmin’s backing-warrant-claim model is the correct way to conceptualize argument, and that, contrary to many current definitions, rational persuasion ought not to be built into the very concept of argument, but instead understood as a use of argument—one among others. Argumentation is best conceived as exchanges of arguments, and the nature of these exchanges will differ according to the …
Reasoning In Theory And Practice, Stephen Toulmin
Reasoning In Theory And Practice, Stephen Toulmin
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My book, The Uses of Argument, has had a curious history. Its intention was not to present a new theory of rhetoric, but to prompt a reconsideration, by my colleagues, of the aims and methods of logic; in the spirit of John Dewey's book, Essays in Experimental Logic. Like David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature, it seemingly ‘fell still‑born from the press,’ and the reasons for its sales, which have continued for nearly half a century, were made clear to me only on a visit to North America, when I was told of the book's value to teachers of communication …
Figures Of Argument, Jeanne Fahnestock
Figures Of Argument, Jeanne Fahnestock
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In the mid-nineteenth century, scientists in fields as different as chemistry and botany, August Kekule and Gregor Mendel, argued for insights that depended critically on antithetical expressions and reasoning. One hundred years earlier, Lavoisier, in his one foray into geology, used the same constitutive argumentative and verbal devices to organize his observations and claims, just as Newton, Harvey, Gilbert and Kepler had done in the centuries before him. The heuristic and persuasive use in natural philosophy of an argument form like the antithesis has particular roots in the combined grammatical, rhetorical and dialectical training established during the humanist educational reforms …
The Uses Of Argument In Mathematics, Andrew Aberdein
The Uses Of Argument In Mathematics, Andrew Aberdein
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Stephen Toulmin once observed that ‘it has never been customary for philosophers to pay much attention to the rhetoric of mathematical debate’ (Toulmin & al., 1979, p. 89). Might the application of Toulmin’s layout of arguments to mathematics remedy this oversight? Toulmin’s critics fault the layout as requiring so much abstraction as to permit incompatible reconstructions. Mathematical proofs may indeed be represented by fundamentally distinct layouts. However, cases of genuine conflict characteristically reflect an underlying disagreement about the nature of the proof in question.
Leibniz And Toulmin: Rationalism Without Dogmas (Pluralism, Pragmatism, And Gradualism), Txetxu Ausin
Leibniz And Toulmin: Rationalism Without Dogmas (Pluralism, Pragmatism, And Gradualism), Txetxu Ausin
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The aim of this paper is to connect Leibniz’s and Toulmin’s conceptions about practical and deliberative rationality. When trying to rationally justify contingent judgments Leibniz, like Toulmin, defends a weighing argumentative method. Thus, in Leibniz we can discern the balance between the legitimate demands of formal models of rationality and the lessons of a practice “situated” on a historical, social, and evaluative context (theoria cum praxi).
Applied Epistemology And Argumentation In Epidemiology, Mark Battersby
Applied Epistemology And Argumentation In Epidemiology, Mark Battersby
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On other occasions I have argued that ‘informal logic’ should not really be seen as a kind of ‘weak’ form of logic, but rather as ‘applied epistemology.’ This categorization is intended to create an analogy with applied ethics. Applied ethics has created a robust research project and stimulated ethical thinking both in and outside philosophy. As with applied ethics, I believe that as philosophers explore the actual application of their principles and theories (ethical or epistemological) they will discover new insights into the powers and limitations of their theories. Application is not just about philosophy being ‘useful,’ it is …
Toulmin’S Model Of Argument And The Question Of Relativism, Lilian Bermejo-Luque
Toulmin’S Model Of Argument And The Question Of Relativism, Lilian Bermejo-Luque
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In The Uses of Argument, Toulmin proposed a distinction between field-dependent and field-invariant standards for argument appraisal that gave rise to a relativistic understanding of his theory. The main goal of this paper is to show that epistemological relativism is not a necessary consequence of Toulmin's model of argument. To this end, I will analyze the role that fields are to play within this model, given a certain conception of one of its key elements: the warrant of an argument.
Induction And Invention: The Toulmin Model Meets Critical Rhetoric, Satoru Aonuma
Induction And Invention: The Toulmin Model Meets Critical Rhetoric, Satoru Aonuma
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The aim of this paper is to (re)articulate the relationship between ‘critical rhetoric’ and Stephen Toulmin’s conception of practical reasoning. Among students of rhetoric, particularly those who work in communication departments in (US) American universities, the project of reason, once cherished as central to the 20th century Renaissance of argument, seems to have become outdated and irrelevant. With the recent ‘critical turn,’ reason was especially given a bad name in the field of rhetoric. Some rhetoricians have even joined reason’s Other, dissociating themselves from the project of reason as much as possible. The paper contends that the difference between critical …
A Matrix Model Of Argumentation, Alan Cirlin
A Matrix Model Of Argumentation, Alan Cirlin
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This paper presents a two-dimensional teaching model of argumentation that evolved over a number of years. It was originally developed out of Stephen Toulmin’s model and offers a ‘matrix approach’ to the analysis of complex rhetorical events. The two dimensions of the matrix involve the analysis of the sub-claims used to support the ultimate claim in a rhetorical artifact and the way in which those sub-claims are organized. This paper briefly presents the background, rationale, basic elements, and structure of the model. And while there is insufficient space to provide a full, detailed example, this paper will suggest some illustrative …
Some Axioms Underlying Argumentation Theory, George Boger
Some Axioms Underlying Argumentation Theory, George Boger
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This paper examines whether philosophers of argument, in spite of their disavowing ‘timeless principles’, nevertheless embrace a set of principles, or axioms, to underlie argumentation theory. First, it reviews the thinking of some prominent philosophers of argument; second, it extracts some principles common to their philosophies; and third, it draws out possible consequences for argumentation theory and asks whether such theory has an underlying political posture.
Arguments That Backfire, Daniel H. Cohen
Arguments That Backfire, Daniel H. Cohen
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One result of successful argumentation – able arguers presenting cogent arguments to competent audiences – is a transfer of credibility from premises to conclusions. From a purely logical perspective, neither dubious premises nor fallacious inference should lower the credibility of the target conclusion. Nevertheless, some arguments do backfire this way. Dialectical and rhetorical considerations come into play. Three inter-related conclusions emerge from a catalogue of hapless arguers and backfiring arguments. First, there are advantages to paying attention to arguers and their contexts, rather than focusing narrowly on their arguments, in order to understand what can go wrong in argumentation. Traditional …
Theoretical Construction And Argumentative Reality: An Analytic Model Of Critical Discussion And Conventionalised Types Of Argumentative Activity, Frans H. Van Eemeren, Peter Houtlosser
Theoretical Construction And Argumentative Reality: An Analytic Model Of Critical Discussion And Conventionalised Types Of Argumentative Activity, Frans H. Van Eemeren, Peter Houtlosser
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Van Eemeren and Houtlosser concentrate on the tension inherent in argumentative discourse between the pursuit of success and the maintenance of reasonableness. They elaborate on their earlier claim that this tension leads to ‘strategic manoeuvring’ that can be explained by making use of insights from dialectic and rhetoric. As a new step in their treatment of strategic manoeuvring they take account of the fact that the manoeuvring always takes place in one of the various argumentative ‘activity types’ that can be distinguished in argumentative practice. Unlike theoretical constructs such as a critical discussion and other ideal models, which are based …
Ordinary Language Users' Assessments Of Misuse Of Argument Schemes, Frans H. Van Eemeren, Bart Garssen, Bert Meuffels
Ordinary Language Users' Assessments Of Misuse Of Argument Schemes, Frans H. Van Eemeren, Bart Garssen, Bert Meuffels
OSSA Conference Archive
In a series of experimental studies we tried to answer the question whether and to what extent the different types of fallacies that theoretically speaking are a violation of the argument scheme rule, are seen as unreasonable by ordinary language users. Of each of the three main types of argument schemes (i.e. symptomatic argumentation, causal argumentation and comparison argumentation) one or more misuses were investigated. In this paper the experimental results pertaining to the argumentum ad consequentiam, the argumentum ad populum, the slippery slope and the fallacy of the false analogy are discussed.
Probably, Robert H. Ennis
The Uses Of Rhetorical Argument, Daniel Farr
The Uses Of Rhetorical Argument, Daniel Farr
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In The Uses of Argument, Toulmin takes great effort to ensure that, although not formally, good argument is experienced as a logical enterprise. However, such an informally logically driven theory of argumentation cannot take into account the persuasive effects inherent in argumentative discourse that move a given audience to accept a claim. I argue that, while Toulmin's model is a commendable step towards a rhetorical theory of argumentation, he misses two important rhetorical principles: 1. Arguments will always have rhetorically persuasive components that cannot be evaluated in terms of logical validity. 2. Good arguments are lasting arguments that stay with …
Mill’S On Liberty And Argumentation Theory, Maurice A. Finocchiaro
Mill’S On Liberty And Argumentation Theory, Maurice A. Finocchiaro
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Chapter 2 of Mill’s On Liberty is reconstructed as a complex argument for freedom of discussion; it consists of three subarguments, each possessing illative and dialectical components. The illative component is this: freedom of discussion is desirable because (1) it enables us to determine whether an opinion is true, whereas its denial amounts to an assumption of infallibility; (2) it improves our understanding and appreciation of the supporting reasons of true opinions, and our understanding and appreciation of their practical or emotional meaning; (3) it enables us to understand and appreciate every side of the truth, given that opinions tend …
Emotional Backing And The Feeling Of Deep Disagreement, Richard Friemann
Emotional Backing And The Feeling Of Deep Disagreement, Richard Friemann
OSSA Conference Archive
This paper discusses Toulmin’s (1964) concept of backing with respect to the emotional mode of arguing. Specifically, I examine an example from Fogelin (1985) where emotional backing justifies a warrant concerning when we should judge that a person is being pig-headed. While his treatment of this kind of argument can be supported by contemporary emotion science, it needs to be supplemented by therapeutic techniques whether or not our goal is to rationally resolve such arguments. This is shown through a comparison with an analysis of an emotional argument from Gilbert (1997). The introduction of psychotherapy into argumentation theory raises the …
Reductions Of The Already Reduced: The Neglect Of Qualifiers, Rebuttals, And Backing In Appropriations Of The ‘Toulmin Model’ In Contemporary Composition Pedagogy, David Flemming, Melvin Hall
Reductions Of The Already Reduced: The Neglect Of Qualifiers, Rebuttals, And Backing In Appropriations Of The ‘Toulmin Model’ In Contemporary Composition Pedagogy, David Flemming, Melvin Hall
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No abstract provided.
Systematizing Toulmin’S Warrants: An Epistemic Approach, James B. Freeman
Systematizing Toulmin’S Warrants: An Epistemic Approach, James B. Freeman
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Relevance of premises to conclusion can be explicated through Toulmin’s notion of warrant, understood as an inference rule, albeit not necessarily formal. Premises are relevant to a conclusion just in case a reliable warrant licenses the step from these premises to the conclusion, or there is a series of steps from premises to conclusion where each is licensed by a reliable warrant. But when is a warrant reliable? We distinguish four types of warrant based on the mode of intuition involved in coming to recognize that the set of premises constitutes a reason for the conclusion: a priori, empirical, institutional, …
Re-Programming The Mind Through Logic. The Social Role Of Logic In Positivism And Lieber’S Mits, Wits And Logic, Rolf George, Nina Gandhi
Re-Programming The Mind Through Logic. The Social Role Of Logic In Positivism And Lieber’S Mits, Wits And Logic, Rolf George, Nina Gandhi
OSSA Conference Archive
This essay on the social history of logic instruction considers the programmatic writings of Carnap/Neurath, but especially in the widely read book by Lillian Lieber, Mits, Wits and Logic (1947), where Mits is the man in the street and Wits the woman in the street. In the ‘pre-Toulmin’ days it was seriously argued that the intense study of formal logic would create a more rational frame of mind and have many beneficial effects upon the social and political life. It arose from the conviction that most metaphysical conundrums, religious and political problems and even fanaticism had their root in the …
Argumentation In Students’ Academic Discourse, Kara Gilbert
Argumentation In Students’ Academic Discourse, Kara Gilbert
OSSA Conference Archive
A variety of theoretical and epistemological perspectives on the notion of argument has contributed towards the development of numerous text analysis systems in contemporary argumentation research, making the selection of an analytic model for the description and evaluation of arguments in natural language contexts a complex task for researchers. Not surprisingly, Western scholars have overwhelmingly relied on Anglo- and Euro-centric models of argumentation as normative references of argument structure and quality in a variety of research contexts, disregarding plurality of practice within socio-cultural contexts. I will discuss how the findings of my own research, in which I examine the rhetorical …
Argument Use In Gendered Contexts, Miqqi Alicia Gilbert
Argument Use In Gendered Contexts, Miqqi Alicia Gilbert
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It has been accepted for some time within Communication Theory that there are identifiable differences in how men and women communicate. This acceptance obtains both within the academic world and even more so within the realm of folk Communication Theory. I argue that the gender-identified differences run along distinct poles. The first major pole concerns the objectives meant to be achieved by argument: is it deciding who is right? Or, what the issue really is? Or, how a disagreement can or should be resolved? The second major aspect concerns the communicative tools used in settling differences and understanding positions. If …
Epistemic Contextualism And The Context Of An Argument, G C. Goddu
Epistemic Contextualism And The Context Of An Argument, G C. Goddu
OSSA Conference Archive
Contextualists with regard to knowledge argue that the truth of the claim 'x knows that P' is contextually dependent. In doing so, they attempt to articulate the nature of the contextual dependence. Since part of making knowledge claims involves the adequate justification of beliefs, I shall explore whether any epistemic contextualist theories can be modified or adapted to provide an account of the context-dependence of justificatory strength for arguments. I shall conclude that the prospects are not promising.
Complex Cases And Legitimation Inferences: Extending The Toulmin Model To Deliberative Argument In Controversy, G Thomas Goodnight
Complex Cases And Legitimation Inferences: Extending The Toulmin Model To Deliberative Argument In Controversy, G Thomas Goodnight
OSSA Conference Archive
A warrant may be grounded in personal testimony, technical method, or public consensus. The justified choice of a field, in authorizing the warrant and providing further extension of support constitutes a legitimation inference. Complex cases evolve when there are a surplus of good reasons as potential support for a claim, and a choice must be made either to select a single ground for the claim or to advance independently valid reasons, differentially grounded, as support. Complex cases enter the realm of controversy when not all relevant grounds offer the same degree of support or point in the same direction, and …
Truth And Storytelling: Some Hidden Arguments, Trudy Govier
Truth And Storytelling: Some Hidden Arguments, Trudy Govier
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This paper explores the relationship between narrative and argument in the context of ‘telling our stories’, a common aspect of processes of political reconciliation. Truth commissions and informal workshops often emphasize the telling of stories as a means of providing a sense of the experiences of persons affected by political conflict. Such stories, or narratives, may provide a powerful tool in reconciliation processes, given that they provide a basis for acknowledgement, understanding and empathy. However the power of narrative in such contexts does not eliminate the need for the exploration and evaluation of arguments for contested claims, and there is …
Political Cartoons In A Stephen Toulmin Landscape, Leo Groarke
Political Cartoons In A Stephen Toulmin Landscape, Leo Groarke
OSSA Conference Archive
No abstract provided.
The Overall Evaluation Of Arguments: How Probable/Acceptable Is A Conclusion Given The Evaluation Of The Truth And Support Of Its Reasons?, Claude Gratton
The Overall Evaluation Of Arguments: How Probable/Acceptable Is A Conclusion Given The Evaluation Of The Truth And Support Of Its Reasons?, Claude Gratton
OSSA Conference Archive
: I explore the logic of counterexamples by possible conjunction in order to extend their use to estimate the degree of support of premises; address some problems with my proposal; discuss some ways of teaching this extended use; and argue that conditional probability fails to express the degree of support of premises. The scant literature on this topic sometimes presents the degree of support of premises P1…Pn for conclusion C in terms of conditional probability, Pr(C/ P1…Pn). I will argue that the degree of support is better expressed by the probability of the conditional statement expressing the inference, Pr(If P1…Pn, …
The Informal Use Of Reductio Ad Absurdum, Henrike Jansen
The Informal Use Of Reductio Ad Absurdum, Henrike Jansen
OSSA Conference Archive
No abstract provided.
Political Reasonableness: A Content Analysis Of The New York Times 1860-2004, Darrin Hicks, Robert Margesson, Kristine Warrenburg
Political Reasonableness: A Content Analysis Of The New York Times 1860-2004, Darrin Hicks, Robert Margesson, Kristine Warrenburg
OSSA Conference Archive
This paper reports the preliminary results of a content analysis of the use and functions of reasonableness in the New York Times editorial page from 1860-2004. We begin by setting out several reasons why we should devote our critical attention to the concept of reasonableness. We then justify our choice of the New York Times editorial page and describe our sample and analytic method. The body of the paper reports three results. First, the primary meanings of the concept are detailed. These include prudence, rationality, fairness, and appropriateness. Second, a distinction between an epistemic and a non-epistemic function of the …
Theory And Practice Again: Challenges From Pinto And Toulmin, Ralph H. Johnson
Theory And Practice Again: Challenges From Pinto And Toulmin, Ralph H. Johnson
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In Argument, Inference and Dialectic (2001) Pinto argues that critical practice can furnish us with the necessary guidance to answer our questions about argument and inference; we do not need to develop a theory of argument/inference. Pinto’s provocative remarks raise questions about the appeal to practice, and recall problems that Toulmin encounters in development of his innovative theory in The Uses of Argument (1958). In this paper, I juxtapose and reflect on these developments.