Abstract

In The Uses of Argument, Toulmin takes great effort to ensure that, although not formally, good argument is experienced as a logical enterprise. However, such an informally logically driven theory of argumentation cannot take into account the persuasive effects inherent in argumentative discourse that move a given audience to accept a claim. I argue that, while Toulmin's model is a commendable step towards a rhetorical theory of argumentation, he misses two important rhetorical principles: 1. Arguments will always have rhetorically persuasive components that cannot be evaluated in terms of logical validity. 2. Good arguments are lasting arguments that stay with the audience.