Context-based argumentation frameworks and multi-agent consensus building

Abstract

Abstract Argumentation must be conducted within specific contexts that involve particular social norms and values. For decision-making, the divergence of opinions among participants does not lie solely in disagreements of common sense and beliefs but mainly stems from differences in the priority orderings over values. In this paper, we discuss how to build consensus among participants holding different value orderings based on an extended structured argumentation framework that takes contextual factors into account. Compared with other formal systems for multi-agent reasoning based on argumentation, the context-based argumentation system especially emphasizes the dynamic nature of contexts. In addition, we refer to a pragmatic perspective to discuss how people manage to achieve the consensus they expect by changing contexts during an argument.