Toulmin’s argumentation model

Abstract

This chapter discusses Toulmin’s argumentation model and its application in a legal context. In the introduction of his argumentation model, Toulmin uses the legal process to show that the acceptability of practical argumentation does not depend on logical validity. Comparing the process of practical argumentation with a legal process, he tries to demonstrate that the acceptability of a claim depends in part on a fixed procedure for defending standpoints. The elements of such a procedure are field-invariant. However, the evaluation criteria that are used in various forms of legal proceedings to decide whether the content of the arguments put forward in this procedure are acceptable are field-dependent. In this chapter, Sect. 3.2 describes Toulmin’s argumentation model in which he translates the stages of a legal process in terms of a general procedure for practical argumentation. Section 3.3 discusses the application of Toulmin’s model in literature on legal argumentation. Section 3.4 discusses refinements and extensions of the Toulmin model developed in research on AI and Law. Section 3.5 concludes with a summary of the insights offered by Toulmin’s theory with respect to the analysis and evaluation of legal argumentation.