Stephen Toulmin Quotes
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. The quotes below are attributed to Stephen Toulmin, organized by topic.
Stephen Toulmin on Knowledge
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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 on Mind
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Attributed to Stephen Toulmin:
“Practical reasoning rarely fits the pattern of formal proof.”
Stephen Toulmin on Truth
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Attributed to Stephen Toulmin:
“An argument is an organized presentation of grounds for a claim.”