Stephen Toulmin 1922 – 2009
Stephen Toulmin (1922 – 2009) was a British philosopher of the Contemporary era, associated with Analytic Philosophy.
Stephen Edelston Toulmin was a British philosopher of science, ethics, and argumentation. Trained at Cambridge under Wittgenstein, he held posts in Britain, Australia, and the United States, eventually settling at the University of Southern California. His Uses of Argument set out a now-classic anatomy of practical reasoning centered on claims, grounds, warrants, and rebuttals, while Cosmopolis offered a critical reassessment of the seventeenth-century rise of formal rationalism. Human Understanding, Return to Reason, and the jointly authored Abuse of Casuistry argued for a situated, evolutionary conception of rationality.
Key facts
- Nationality
- British
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Analytic Philosophy
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Stephen Toulmin:
“An argument is an organized presentation of grounds for a claim.”
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Attributed to Stephen Toulmin:
“Practical reasoning rarely fits the pattern of formal proof.”
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Attributed to Stephen Toulmin:
“Cosmopolis is the ambition to govern thought by universal abstract reason; it is also a temptation.”
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Attributed to Stephen Toulmin:
“Rationality is grounded in practical contexts, not in disembodied logic.”
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Attributed to Stephen Toulmin:
“Modernity must learn humility from its own oversights.”
Stephen Toulmin by topic
Frequently asked about Stephen Toulmin
- When did Stephen Toulmin live?
- Stephen Toulmin was born in 1922 and died in 2009.
- Where was Stephen Toulmin from?
- Stephen Toulmin was a British philosopher of the Contemporary era.
- What philosophical movements is Stephen Toulmin associated with?
- Stephen Toulmin was associated with Analytic Philosophy.
- What was Stephen Toulmin known for?
- Stephen Edelston Toulmin was a British philosopher of science, ethics, and argumentation.
- How many quotes are attributed to Stephen Toulmin?
- There are 9 attributed quotations from Stephen Toulmin in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.