Artificial argument assistants for defeasible argumentation

B. Verheij*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The present paper discusses experimental argument assistance tools. In contrast with automated reasoning tools, the objective is not to replace reasoning, but to guide the user's production of arguments. Two systems are presented, ARGUE! and ARGUMED based on DEFLOG. The focus is on defeasible argumentation with an eye on the law. Argument assistants for defeasible argumentation naturally correspond to a view of the application of law as dialectical theory construction. The experiments provide insights into the design of argument assistants, and show the pros and cons of different ways of representing argumentative data. The development of the argumentation theories underlying the systems has culminated in the logical system DEFLOG that formalizes the interpretation of prima facie justified assumptions. DEFLOG introduces an innovative use of conditionals expressing support and attack. This allows the expression of warrants for support and attack, making it a transparent and flexible system of defeasible argumentation.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)291-324
Number of pages34
JournalArtificial Intelligence
Volume150
Issue number1-2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2003

Cite this