Critical Arguments—The Toulmin Argumentation Schema (TAS)

Vincent P. Barabba and Ian I. Mitroff
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Vincent P. Barabba: Market Insight Corporation
Ian I. Mitroff: University of Southern California

Chapter 2 in Business Strategies for a Messy World: Tools for Systemic Problem-Solving, 2014, pp 11-21 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Complex arguments are a prime feature of complex business decisions. In 1958, the distinguished historian and philosopher of science, Stephen Toulmin, published a remarkable little book, The Uses of Argument. In it, he laid out the general structure of all arguments. It quickly became an academic bestseller. It was adopted widely in courses on Rhetoric, Political Science, International Affairs and Policy Analyses, etc. Although we first applied the Toulmin Argumentation Schema (TAS) to the analyses of complex business and governmental problems over 30 years ago, to the best of our knowledge, it has still not been widely adopted in schools of business and government, not to mention practice. Few outside of Rhetoric, Political Science, International Affairs and Policy Analyses, etc. even seem aware of it. This chapter exists in part to correct this unfortunate state of affairs. In short, the situations facing organizations are so complex, dynamic, important, and thorny such that whether they know it or not, they need ways of examining the major arguments on which their key decisions depend.

Keywords: Policy Analysis; Learn Organization; Business Strategy; Complex Argument; Major Argument (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-38640-3_2

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DOI: 10.1057/9781137386403_2

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