The Use Of Argument By Stephen Toulmin: Making A Final Decision

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The Use of Argument
Arriving at a conclusion is not as simple as making a final decision on a matter. To make a decision, one needs to have or gather factual information which will help them make the most appropriate choice. However, when it comes to a conclusion, chances are high people will counter your view or perception. Therefore, you need to not only have relevant data or facts regarding your stance but also be in a position to satisfactorily link the facts to your conclusion. In his book The Use of Argument, Stephen Toulmin provided a simple guideline which can be used to validate a conclusion or a position. Justifying an assertion or opinion can be quite a task but Toulimin helped by providing his readers with an easy way of showing how one arrives at a conclusion. One of the questions that lingered in the minds of researchers was if it is philosophically sound to use a single system of norms to judge arguments from different fields or if each field should have its specific system. In The Use of Argument, Toulmin provides a simple yet seemingly universal system of norms which can be used to judge all arguments.
First of all, Toulmin talks about claims which he describes as the information one presents to a person with the aim of making them accept it as true. It is normal for people to start with claims whenever they are trying to sell their ideas to other people. However, as is often the case, claims can and are typically challenged. Human beings are naturally cynical and seem to always want to deny or challenge what they are told. Therefore, whenever a claim is presented, there is always room for further clarification and presentation of further information.
Once a claim is challenged, this presents an opportunity for the presentation of data or factual information to backup one’s claims. This next step Toulmin called grounds or data and is typically made up of facts whose goal is to sustain the reason behind a particular claim. One can simply say that data or grounds are the basis or the truth on which claims are based. Grounds differ and may include anything from one’s proof of expertise to the premises central to a particul...