Stephen Toulmin's
The Uses of Argument:
A Contextual Re-Reading
Chapter One: Examining
The Uses of Argument
This chapter provides the overview of my research project: an analysis of
the criticisms and applications of Stephen Toulmin's 1958
The Uses of Argument. Toulmin's work challenges the
mathematical (deductive) and positivistic logics of philosophers such as
Descartes and Russell; he examines the relationship between natural-language
argumentation and the evaluative criteria of formal logic.
After summarizing
Toulmin's colleagues' reactions to his work, I point to Toulmin's influences
on contemporary rhetorical theory and pedagogy. At the same time, I observe
that several prominent historians of composition theory and pedagogy neglect
any mention of Toulmin in their works. However, a large amount of scholarship
exploring the utility of The Uses of Argument--in philosophy, speech
communication, and composition--exists. Thus, the historians' oversights
provide fertile ground for an examination into the range and depth of
Toulmin's influences on rhetorical theory and pedagogy, especially in
composition.
My research considers Toulmin's influence on both philosophers and
rhetoricians; I discuss and evaluate 40 years of scholarship from several
types of sources. However, philosophy, speech communication, and
composition journals receive particular emphasis. (Because another
composition scholar has already addressed uses of Toulmin's work in
composition handbooks and rhetorics, I do not focus on that area.
I
do address the uses of Toulmin in speech communication handbooks.)
I examine the following areas: (1) scholarly readings and "mis-readings"
of The Uses of Argument; (2) reports of pedagogical applications of
The Uses of Argument; (3) disjunctures between composition
pedagogy and
theory and argumentation pedagogy and theory;
(4) practical pedagogical
applications of Toulmin's ideas;
and (5) the shared and the disparate
natures of philosophy,
speech communication, and composition.
Chapter Two: The Intellectual Context
Because Toulmin holds that arguments must be assessed in relation to their
contexts, Chapter
Two examines the intellectual context surrounding The Uses of
Argument.
First, I argue that Toulmin's work must be read in relation to a
general
understanding of the major theorists and themes in twentieth-century
analytic
philosophy, particularly English analytic philosophy. Next, to show
the
dominance of the paradigm Toulmin challenges, I trace the development
of
formal symbolic logic, from the latter part of the nineteenth century
and into
the middle of the twentieth century. Then, while discussing
analytic philosophy,
I also discuss the work of Wittgenstein to
demonstrate the significance of his
embracement and subsequent rejection
of analytic philosophy. Wittgenstein is
important in this section because
he was one of Toulmin's mentors at Cambridge;
he was also one of the
most influential philosophers in the ordinary language
philosophy
movement--a movement that has direct influences on The Uses of
Argument.
As I consider the work of the ordinary language philosophers, I
demonstrate that Toulmin's work is a response to the work of the
analytic
philosophers. Inspired by the "later" Wittgenstein and other
ordinary language
philosophers, Toulmin holds that natural language
arguments should not be
evaluated using the positivistic yardstick
of formal, symbolic logic.
Chapter Three: Stephen Toulmin's
The Uses of Argument
Having provided readers
with an understanding of the intellectual
context of The Uses of
Argument, I use Chapter Three to examine the
work itself. This chapter
is intended as a supplement or companion to
Toulmin's text. Rather than
simply summarize Toulmin's points, I
provide extended discussions of his
arguments and influences. For
example, early in The Uses of Argument,
Toulmin uses a jurisprudential
analogy to discuss natural-language argumentation
and logic. While
Toulmin allies and critics have emphasized his jurisprudential
approach,
Toulmin has explained that his conception of argument is not dependent
on the jurisprudential model. Also considered in Chapter Three are
features of
The Uses of Argument that are often overlooked or
misunderstood by critics
and reviewers, including Toulmin's discussion
of probability, field-dependent
and independent aspects of arguments,
and epistemological theory.
Chapter Four: Philosophy and
Speech Communication Scholars Respond
Because
Toulmin's work was first examined by scholars in both
philosophy and
speech communication, Chapter Four examines the
range of reactions
by members of these two disciplines.
Significantly, confusion about
the early responses abounds in
Toulmin scholarship. Previous Toulmin
scholars have maintained
that Toulmin received universal criticism for
his work. While
it is true that many philosophers-including several of
Toulmin's
close associates-criticized the work, other philosophers who
reviewed the work soon after its initial publication found The
Uses
of Argument worthy of careful consideration. After demonstrating
that many of the reviews of Toulmin's work are not as damning as
recent
scholars have portrayed, I consider various ways philosophers
and speech
communication scholars have responded to Toulmin's arguments.
For instance,
the work of the two scholars in speech communication most
responsible for
the spread of Toulmin's influence--Brockriede and
Ehninger--is considered;
also considered is the evolution of Toulmin's
influence in speech communication,
first in upper-division debate and
argumentation courses, and then in
general-level public speaking courses.
Chapter Five: Composition Embraces Toulmin
Before examining composition scholars' reactions to and uses of
Toulmin,
I briefly trace the development of argumentation in composition
instruction:
Beginning with an overview of the dominance of current-
traditional rhetoric
in the twentieth century, I explore several
prominent scholars' calls for an
alternative rhetoric, a rhetoric
of argument. While demonstrating that
composition scholars searched
for a workable rhetoric of argument, I also
trace the development of
alternative (competing) rhetorics in the 1960s
and 1970s. Then, having
explored several predominate rhetorics, I move to
the true focus of the
chapter: the wide range of reactions to and uses of
Toulmin's work by
composition scholars. For example, some scholars report
using Toulmin's
schema for invention heuristics; others report using the
schema to foster
ethical and cognitive growth among students. Just before
evaluating recent
criticisms Toulmin's work has received from composition
scholars, I
examine in detail Fulkerson's scholarship, for he is the most
prolific
and pragmatic Toulmin critic in composition.
Because I began
this chapter with a short discussion of the evolution
of argument instruction
and its relationship to Toulmin in contemporary
composition pedagogy,
I end Chapter Five with a defense of Toulmin: As
made clear in Chapter Two,
Toulmin wrote The Uses of Argument not for
scholars in rhetoric and
composition but for analytic and ordinary-language
philosophers considering
specific aspects of argument analysis and
evaluation. While his work certainly
has been praised and criticized in
a wide variety of intellectual contexts,
composition scholars--all scholars
using Toulmin, actually--must remain
cognizant of Toulmin's original context
and purpose. Next, I suggest that
composition scholars can be criticized
for their uses of Toulmin: First,
even though there were several calls
throughout the 1960s and 1970s in
composition circles for a practical
rhetoric of argument and logic,
composition scholars are twenty years
behind their rhetorician colleagues
in speech communication. Second,
when composition scholars do address
Toulmin, they rarely mention the
relevant existing scholarship in speech
communication; many composition
scholars insist on "re-inventing the wheel."
Finally, I conclude that,
in many respects, composition scholars still have
work to do regarding
the utility of The Uses of Argument in composition.
Chapter Six: The Uses of Argument:
A Contextual Application
Having examined the intellectual
history, the critical reception, and
the variety of scholarly applications of
The Uses of Argument, I offer my
own application of Toulmin's work.
I explain that good,
"Toulmin-inspired" arguments are (1) contextual, (2)
supported, and (3)
multi-sided. Also, using student examples from my
freshman
composition courses, I demonstrate how students and I have used
Toulmin's
schema in several stages of the writing process, including the
invention
and revision stages. My argument is, essentially, that
The
Uses of Argument is applicable in the writing classroom;
however,
composition scholars must exercise a great deal of caution
when they
utilize Toulmin's work: Toulmin wrote The Uses of Argument
as
a philosopher. He was responding to a rather specific audience, an
audience examining specific questions concerning the role of natural-
language
arguments in epistemological theory.