This dissertation has been 64—8834 microfilmed exactly as received SPICER, Holt Vandercook, 1928— STEPHEN TQTTI,MIN'S FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF LOGIC AND ETHICS AND ITS RELATION TO RHETORIC. The University of Oklahoma, Ph.D., 1964 Speech—Theater University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE STEPHEN TOULMIN'S FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF LOGIC AND ETHICS AND ITS RELATION TO RHETORIC A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY HOLT V. SPICER Norman, Oklahoma 1964 STEPHEN TOULMIN'S FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF LOGIC AND ETHICS AND ITS RELATION TO RHETORIC APPROVED BY _ ^ 7 i2 _ Z _ r. DISSERTATION COMMITTEE TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 1 Chapte r ]. THE REVOLUTION IN PHILOSOPHY: A CONTEXT FOR THE STUDY OF TOULMIN S WORKS .... 9 Philosophy at the Turn of the Century ................................ 11 The Revolution of Analytic P h i lo s o p h............................. y 19 11. THE ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY OF STEPHEN TOULMIN .......................................................................... 66 Introduction................................................................................................. 66 Toulmin on Science .......................................................................... 69 Toulmin on E th ics................................................................................ 8b Toulmin on Argument .................................................................... 100 C o n c l u s i o n................................................................................................. 122 111. THE RELATION OF TOULMIN S VIEWS TO RHETORICAL T H E O R Y ......................................................... 127 Introduction................................................................................................. 127 Toulmin and the Nature and Purpose of Rhetoric . 129 The Sources oi P e r s u a s i o n......................................................... 133 Inductive and Deductive A r g u m e n t........................................ 14 3 Ethics and Rhetoric .......................................................................... 159 Cone lus i o n s................................................................................................. 169 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................... 172 INTRODUCTION "Rhetoric, " contended Aristotle, "is an offshoot of dialectic and also of ethical stu d ies. "^ From the time of this statement until 2 the present, the relationship of dialectic and logic to rhetoric has been one of the central issues in debates over rhetorical theory. The two arts or sciences, as different theorists classify them, have variously been perceived as the open hand and the closed fist of the same body, as parent and offspring, and as mutually exclusive categories. With each new view of this relationship, fundamental changes have taken place in rhetorical theory. What is true of the disputed place of logic in rhetoric is also true of the relation of ethics to its offshoot. Some have regarded ^Aristotle's Rhetoric and Poetic, trans, W. Rhys Roberts (New York; Modern Library, 1954), 1356^^ 2 The distinction between logic and dialectic which was clear in the works of Aristotle seems to have become blurred in rhetorical theory since his time. In fact, references to "dialectic" in both the fields of rhetoric and philosophy are relatively infrequent in current literature. -1 - -2 " 3 rhetoric as amoral, and others have argued that its sole purpose is to enable one to discover the "good and to influence others in the direction of truth and justice. The relationship of both logic and ethics to rhetoric seems to vary with the general philosophical position of the rhetorician who is speaking. Perhaps the reason for this difficulty is that Aristotle approached the study of rhetoric from the philosopher's point of view and could categorize it in relation to a logically consistent view of all known fields of knowledge, and his followers could not. To him, logic was the method of science, dialectic the method of solving philosophical problems, ethics "the science dealing with individual conduct, " which "shades off into Politics (a broader subject), which deals with the conduct and activities of 'ren in groups, and rhetoric the discovery of the available means of persuasion to be used with popular audiences. In much of the past and present debates over the place of reason and ethics in rhetoric, no such overall understanding is present. 3 Everett Lee Plunt, "Plato and Aristotle on Rhetoric and Rhetoricians, " Studies in Rhetoric and Public Speaking in Honor of Tames A. Winans (New Tork: Century Co. , 192 5), 52. 4 Ralph T. Eubanks and Virgil L. Baker, "Toward an Axiology of Rhetoric," Quarterly Tournai of Speech, Xl.VHl (April, 1962), 162. 5 Explanatory note in The Rhetoric of Aristotle, trans. Wne Cooper (New York: D. Appleton-Century Co . , 193/), 5. -3- The purpose of this study is to suggest that a group of contemporary philosophers have developed a method of analysis which should help rhetoricians clarify these relationships and that these professional philosophers have produced conclusions which should be of value to rhetorical theory. The philosophers in question are not members of a particular school nor do they all share the same conclusions.^ They do, however, seem to agree on the nature and purpose of philosophy and share a similar methodology. For purposes of this study they will be referred to as "analytic philosophers" in general and "functional analysts" in 7 particular. In a study of this nature to examine all of the works of the men who comprise this group would be impossible. A general examination of the origin, method, and inclination of the analysts coupled with a detailed study of the works of one of its representatives would, however, be possible and productive. Therefore, this study will explore analytic 6 This view is developed in Gilbert Ryle’s "Taking Sides in Philosophy," Philosophy. XII (July, 1937), 3 17-32, and Stephen Toulmin's "Logical Positivism and After or Back to Aristotle, " Universities Quarterly. XI (August, 1957), 335-47, The term "analytic philosophy" is an extremely broad one and defies brief and precise definition. A working definition for the purpose of rhetorical analysis will be one of the goals of the section of this study devoted to the history and method of philosophical analysis. Within the larger family of analytic philosophy one branch, "linguistic" or "functional" analysis, will be emphasized. -4“ philosophy in general and the works of Stephen Toulmin in particular in an attempt to discover a new way of viewing the relationship of logic and ethics to the field of rhetoric. Two reasons lead to the choice of Professor Toulmin. First, two Q of his works, i.e.. The U ses of Argument and ^ Examination of the 9 place of Reason in Ethics, seem to apply more directly to the problem at hand than do those of his colleagues. Second, a pattern which he developed for the "layout of argument" has already been adjudged valuable by some rhetorical theorists. Throughout this study, the point of departure will be rhetorical. The student of philosophy would probably wish to go into great detail in an examination of various primary sources in analytic philosophy, such 11 12 as those of W ittgenstein and Moore, and to make value judgments 0 (Cambridge: University Press, 1958). Q (Cambridge: University Press, 1950). 10 See Wayne Brockriede and Douglas Ehninger, "Toulmin on Argument: An Interpretation and Application, " Quarterly Tournai of Speech, XLVI (February, 1960), 44-53; Austin J Freeley, Argu­ mentation and Debate; Rational Decision Making (San Francisco: Wadsworth Publishing Co , 1961), 115-18; and Halbert E. Gulley, D iscu ssion , Conference. and Group Process (New York; Henry Holt and Co. , 1960), 160-62. ^ ^Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tracta tu s Logico-Philosophions (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1922). 12 George Edward Moore, Principia Ethica (Cambridge: University Press, 1903), -5 - regarding the differences of opinion among the various exponents of analytic philosophy^ Time and the purpose of this study do not, however, allow for such an exhaustive analysis of the finer points of analytic philosophy. For this reason, only a general history and summary of the methods and conclusions of this movement taken from qualified secondary sources will be presented as an introduction to the specific views of Stephen Toulmin. Perhaps the most productive of these sources are The Revolution 11 in Philosophy, edited by A. J. Ayer; English Philosophy Since 1900, by G. J. Warnock;^^ Language. Logic. and God, by Frederick Ferre'; and J. O. Urmson's PhilosophicalAnalysis. I n addition to these, numerous books and articles deal directly with various aspects of contemporary analytic theory. In order to establish a comprehensive view of Toulmin's theories on logic and ethics, the second section of this study is devoted to an examination of his writings on scientific, ethical, and ordinary reasoning. Each of his major works on these topics will be discussed and their inter­ relationships established. 13 (London; Macmillan and Go. , 1956). ^^(London; Oxford University Press, 1958). ^^(NewYork; Harper and Brothers, 1961). (Oxford: University Press, 1956).