Eight Theses Reflecting on Stephen Toulmin

I discuss eight theses espoused or occasioned by Toulmin: (1) The validity standard is nearly always the wrong standard for real-life reasoning. (2) Little in good reasoning is topic neutral. (3) The probability calculus distorts much probabilistic reasoning. (4) Scant resources have a benign influence on human reasoning. (5) Theoretical progress and conceptual change are connected. (6) Logic should investigate the cognitive aspects of reasoning and arguing. (7) Ideal models are unsuitable for normativity. (8) The role of the Can Do Principle

Reflective Argumentation

Theories of argumentation usually focus on arguments as means of persuasion, finding consensus, or justifying knowledge claims. However, the construction and visualization of arguments can also be used to clarify one's own thinking and to stimulate change of this thinking if gaps, unjustified assumptions, contradictions, or open questions can be identified. This is what I call "reflective argumentation." The objective of this paper is, first, to clarify the conditions of reflective argumentation and, second, to discuss the possibilities of argument visualization methods in supporting reflection and cognitive change. After a discussion of the cognitive problems we are facing in conflicts--obviously the area where cognitive change is hardest--the second part will, based on this, determine a set of requirements argument visualization tools should fulfill if their main purpose is stimulating reflection and cognitive change. In the third part, I will evaluate available argument visualization methods with regard to these requirements and talk about their limitations. The fourth part, then, introduces a new method of argument visualization which I call Logical Argument Mapping (LAM). LAM has specifically been designed to support reflective argumentation. Since it uses primarily deductively valid argument schemes, this design decision has to be justified with regard to goals of reflective argumentation. The fifth part, finally, provides an example of how Logical Argument Mapping could be used as a method of reflective argumentation in a political controversy

The genre of rational argument

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of Kansas, Speech and Drama, 1974

Towards an authentic argumentation literacy test

A central goal of education is to improve argumentation literacy. How do we know how well this goal is achieved? Can we measure argumentation literacy? The present study is a preliminary step towards measuring the efficacy of education with regards to argumentation literacy. Tests currently in use to determine critical thinking skills are often similar to IQ-tests in that they predominantly measure logical and mathematical abilities. Thus, they may not measure the various other skills required in understanding authentic argumentation. To identify the elements of argumentation literacy, this exploratory study begins by surveying introductory textbooks within argumentation theory, critical thinking, and rhetoric. Eight main abilities have been identified. Then, the study outlines an Argumentation Literacy Test that would comprise these abilities suggested by the literature. Finally, the study presents results from a pilot of a version of such a test and discusses needs for further development

Rhetoric and metaphor in the emergence of modern physics

This dissertation offers a series of rhetorical analyses of the seminal papers of the quantum theory. Specifically, it discusses the central role that metaphors play in the invention of new scientific arguments that form the basis of schools of scientific thought. The theory of metaphor that is developed for analysis is situated into the tradition of the rhetoric of the older sophists of ancient Greece. Metaphor, or more accurately \u27trope,\u27 was a constitutive feature of sophistic beliefs about language and rhetoric. Applied to scientific texts, the sophistic understanding of metaphor illustrates how scientific beliefs can be brought into contrast, leading to conceptual changes in scientific communities. The study applies metaphorical analysis to three different papers from quantum theory. First, it analyzes Max Planck\u27s original 1900 quantum paper, On the Theory of the Energy Distribution Law of the Normal Spectrum, showing how his use of another metaphor leads to the unexpected emergence of the quantum postulate as a new metaphor. Second, it analyzes Albert Einstein\u27s 1905 light quanta paper, Concerning a Heuristic Point of View about the Creation and Transformation of Light, showing how new scientific metaphors, like the quantum postulate, urge other scientists to change their perspective and adopt a new understanding of reality. Finally, it analyzes Niels Bohr\u27s 1927 Copenhagen interpretation paper, The Quantum Postulate and the Recent Development of Atomic Theory, showing how the quantum postulate leads to a new world view for modern physics

Explicitly Teaching Scientific Argumentation: Using Action Research to Study High School Science Readiness and Detracking

Access to advanced-level science courses can be difficult for those students who start in a tracked system. Tracking is an educational practice where students are assigned to different classes based on ability level. African American and Hispanic students are most at risk since most minority students are found in the lower level track (Burris, 2014; Mehan, 2015; Oakes, 2005). This investigation used an action research approach to determine how explicitly taught elements of scientific argumentation would impact student mastery of argument skills and influence instructional practices by a professional learning community. A mixed method study was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Action research was conducted to answer the research questions. During the action research study data was continuously collected and analyzed to make decisions about improvements to instructional practices. The findings revealed how the process of action research influenced instructional practices, and improved written and verbal understanding of elements of argument. The results of this study added to science education research related to scientific argumentation in the science classroom

Pastoralism and Development: Fifty Years of Dynamic Change

This archive IDS Bulletin reflects on 50 years of research on pastoralism at IDS. Thirteen articles are introduced around six themes that have characterised IDS-linked research over this period. These are: pastoral livelihoods; institutions and common property resource management; climate change and ecological dynamics; food security, early warning, and livelihood vulnerability; pastoral marketing; and conflict and governance. Across these themes, IDS research has challenged mainstream development thinking and practice, highlighting the importance of mobility and living with uncertainty. This introductory article concludes with some reflections on research gaps and new challenges, including: the effects of climate change; new forms of pastoral mobility and livelihood; increasing patterns of commoditisation and social differentiation; and changing conflict dynamics. Although massively changed over 50 years, and despite repeated proclamations of crisis and collapse, pastoralism remains, we argue, an important, resilient source of livelihood in marginal rangeland areas across the world, from which others can learn.European Research Council (ERC

Time and International Relations Theory

In this thesis, I promote the relevance of time to International Relations theory, arguing that the meaning and character of time often taken as given or natural is actually the result of material, historical, and sociopolitical processes, and that ignoring these processes effectively prolongs and empowers them. I develop these themes in the following ways. First, utilizing a temporal lens from social theory, I briefly typologize the theoretical canon. Second, I employ a genealogical history to uncover the coeval rises of Western standard time and territorial state sovereignty. Third, I argue that the dominance of abstract, Western temporality continues virtually unchallenged, implicating IR scholarship in the reproduction of that hegemony. Finally, I address theoretical developments that have the potential to contribute to a greater understanding of time's role in international relations by showing how time is productive of the social subject