A metamathematical extension of the Toulmin Agenda

Abstract

Toulmin is famously seen as a progenitor of informal logic and is first among many who seek to move the study of argument away from its roots in formal, especially mathematical, logic and towards its place in inquiry. Toulmin's efforts, however, have been criticized for lack of foundation. I will argue that although Toulmin is correct in rejecting mathematical logic as a theory of argument and logical empiricism as the philosophy of science, there is a significant role for metamathematics in the normative foundation of argument. The core is a metamathematical account of truth and entailment based on physical science rather than arithmetic. © 2006 Springer.