The Fluidity of Warrants: Using the Toulmin Model to Analyse Practical Discourse

Abstract

This contribution seeks to understand the dynamic nature of practical arguments on the basis of an alternative reading of Toulmin’s theory. The essence of this alternative reading is that warrants are conceived of as unstable elements of practical logic: they evolve as arguments are unfolded in, for example, legal decisions. Using this insight, a judgement by the US Supreme Court is analysed and shown to go through various phases of warrant-construction. Finally, the Toulmin scheme is adapted in order to capture this dynamic aspect of practical reasoning.