Argumentation System Research Articles

Robotes-judges: «Transfer of weight (the symbol of court) from the hands of traders to the hands of an angel» or high technology in the future of the legal profession?

Today’s realities are such that judges in Ukraine have become much more distant from the people and are perceived by the population as part of the state apparatus, making decisions on the basis of “telephone law”, and not as an independent judicial branch of government.
 Ordinary citizens, investors and entrepreneurs must be sure of the complete objectivity and impartiality of the judicial system without the possibility of arbitrariness of officials in it, therefore more and more supporters of the complete transition to an automated (robotic) judicial system appear.
 However, along with this, there are opponents of the use of artificial intelligence in the judicial process. Thus, one party believes that the future and the legal profession will soon die out due to high technologies, others distrust any computerization of the judicial process.
 Certain judicial bodies of different countries - France, the USA, China, Great Britain - already use artificial intelligence to help the judge in certain circumstances - for example, to prepare procedural documents, check the correctness of filling in the details of the parties and selection of court practice.
 However, as in other countries, in Ukraine they are working on the digitization of the maximum space in the field of justice. Currently, applications are submitted electronically using the “Electronic Court” system, remote participation in the meeting, as well as their audio and video recording.
 Of course, it is impossible to stop the development of technologies, including in the judiciary. Therefore, when there are hypothetical moments in the future that the functional capabilities of artificial intelligence will exceed the capabilities of judges, prosecutors and lawyers, then quite relevant questions arise in view of the probability of the onset of a “legal singularity”.
 In addition, there are still many unresolved issues, such as the issue of remote certification of evidence, legal and ethical barriers, and enforcement of the decision.
 Thus, in such a world, the law will move into a state of equilibrium between facts and norms. This threatens the death of the system of legal argumentation, which currently forms the basis of judicial evidence.

Context-based argumentation frameworks and multi-agent consensus building

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.

Levels of Knowledge of Law: Questions of Methodology

Introduction. One of the main issues of fundamental jurisprudence is the problem of the epistemology of law. Law is a complex social phenomenon in terms of content, forms of manifestation, and ideological guidelines (ideals). The phenomenon of law is understood differently; it is understood as: the order of the sovereign, the means of ensuring security, the means of class compromise, the natural rights and freedoms of citizens, the measure of freedom, the measure of labor and consumption, imperative-attributive emotions, the restriction of the external freedom of a person, the self-limitation of the state, the existence of free will, the divine will erected the will of the economically dominant class, the will of the whole people, the protection / delimitation of interests, universal human value, the minimum of morality, the result of the inaction of morality, etc. into law. Each approach to the definition of law is accompanied by a system of logical arguments and reveals one of the sides of this social and normative regulator. Theoretical Basis. Methods. The purpose of this work is to study the levels of knowledge of law as a socio-cultural phenomenon. To achieve this task, the following tasks are solved: an analysis of law as the most important social regulator of human activity; law is revealed as part of a person’s spiritual life; the main theoretical and methodological levels of knowledge of law are analyzed. The following methods were used in the course of the study: analysis and synthesis, hermeneutic, comparative approach. Results. The author came to the conclusion that in the science of law there are several levels of knowledge of law: 1) the encyclopedia of law involves a summary of the branch of legal sciences; it combines (consolidates) a huge array of factual information and expands the amount of knowledge about law, society, and the state; 2) the theory of law (general theory of law, theory of state and law), as inductive knowledge, extracts the general principles of law from the empirical material accumulated by branch sciences, creating a methodology for studying political and legal phenomena; 3) the philosophy of law deductively builds the doctrine of law, focusing on the desired ideal for the thinker (legal, political, social, personal, ethical, religious, etc.), thereby revealing the value nature of the legal phenomenon. Discussion and Conclusion. Philosophy and theory of law are independent sciences and disciplines. The article shows some differences and common features of the theory and philosophy of law. At the same time, the author emphasizes that all thinkers, both philosophers of law and theorists, build their concepts based on the position that law is a universally binding rule of behavior, and not descriptive maxims of science or political declarations.

Prospects for the Development of Theoretical and Practical Literary Studies in the Higher Education System: Historical, Methodological and Didactic Aspects

The article contains a general substantiation of theoretical and applied literary criticism as a course of study within the framework of higher philological education, which is focused on the critical and analytical examination of literary texts from the point of view of the argumentation system, linguistic and compositional features presented in them, and at the same time on the assimilation of the genre “rules” of the final qualification work. The relevance of this discipline is determined by the need to bridge the gap between the teaching of fundamental aspects of the literary criticism and the development of practical skills in analyzing not only artistic, but also scholar and critical-literary text, as well as the increasing applied importance of philology in the modern world. The directions of coordination of various perspectives of work with a literary text, taking into account the achievements of related fields of knowledge: linguistic stylistics, rhetoric and academic writing, are outlined. The methodological pluralism underlying the course makes it possible to correlate historical and scientific retrospective and current state of literary studies; principles of immanent and contextual analysis; specialized and interdisciplinary approaches. The clarification of the constitutive components of qualification research is achieved indirectly, through the analysis and convincing interpretation of the precedent text for literary criticism, which implies the differentiation of manifest and conceptual levels, typical and unique features in it. The combination of different kinds of collective and individual assignments during the course development, on the one hand, forms the primary professional competences, and on the other hand, motivates students to scientific reflection and self-representation, because in literary studies, with its hermeneutic and axiological components, the supporting role of intuition, the personality of a scholar is not only included in the cognitive process, but also cannot completely excluded from the results obtained.

AppleTree system for effective computer-supported collaborative argumentation: an exploratory study

AppleTree system for effective computer-supported collaborative argumentation: an exploratory study

Legal standpoint: general legal characteristics

The research focuses on the fact that today the concept of “legal standpoint” is quite popular both in legal theory and practice, and is generally recognised in the national science, but there are different approaches to its understanding in the legal literature. An integrated analysis of the approaches to understanding the essence of this category has been conducted, and it has been established that modern scientific doctrine considers legal standpoint from different approaches: as part of legal culture and legal consciousness; as certain concepts, ideas; as part of an act or its conclusions. It has been noted that such approaches complicate the understanding of the very essence of a legal standpoint at the doctrinal level, and this may lead to contradictions in the implementation of legal provisions. That is why this term should be used in compliance with the rules of formal certainty.
 In order to clarify the legal nature of the term “legal standpoint”, it has been identified its main characteristics. It has been pointed out that the most important feature of a legal standpoint, its heart, is its main idea. An opinion that legal standpoint is a concept of the general theory of law has been supported. In this regard, the author provides an argument that legal standpoint is undoubtedly a product of mental activity, primarily of a professional. The concept is based on a principle, an idea, which is the basis for a proposal (version, hypothesis, recommendation, etc.) that provides a solution to any legal problem.
 It has been stated that the nature of legal standpoint is formed by pragmatism, a person's attitude to real things, which is noted by almost all researchers. When mastering a legal standpoint, certain philosophical approaches should be taken as a basis. In any case, it has been proposed to understand a legal standpoint as an assessment of factual reality and a system of arguments, conclusions and proposals for its legal regulation. This is a kind of logical and legal construction that expresses the attitude to law, legal regulation and its norms. Therefore, it has been established that a legal standpoint is a philosophical and legal category which includes a person’s mental activity, on the basis of which a certain proposal is built, which is used to ensure the resolution of any legal issue.

Observer-based state estimation for discrete-time semi-Markovian jump neural networks with round-robin protocol against cyber attacks

This paper investigates an observer-based state estimation issue for discrete-time semi-Markovian jump neural networks with Round-Robin protocol and cyber attacks. In order to avoid the network congestion and save the communication resources, the Round-Robin protocol is used to schedule the data transmissions over the networks. Specifically, the cyber attacks are modeled as a set of random variables satisfying the Bernoulli distribution. On the basis of the Lyapunov functional and the discrete Wirtinger-based inequality technique, some sufficient conditions are established to guarantee the dissipativity performance and mean square exponential stability of the argument system. In order to compute the estimator gain parameters, a linear matrix inequality approach is utilized. Finally, two illustrative examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed state estimation algorithm.

Evaluating and selecting arguments in the context of higher order uncertainty.

Human and artificial reasoning has to deal with uncertain environments. Ideally, probabilistic information is available. However, sometimes probabilistic information may not be precise or it is missing entirely. In such cases we reason with higher-order uncertainty. Formal argumentation is one of the leading formal methods to model defeasible reasoning in artificial intelligence, in particular in the tradition of Dung's abstract argumentation. Also from the perspective of cognition, reasoning has been considered as argumentative and social in nature, for instance by Mercier and Sperber. In this paper we use formal argumentation to provide a framework for reasoning with higher-order uncertainty. Our approach builds strongly on Haenni's system of probabilistic argumentation, but enhances it in several ways. First, we integrate it with deductive argumentation, both in terms of the representation of arguments and attacks, and in terms of utilizing abstract argumentation semantics for selecting some out of a set of possibly conflicting arguments. We show how our system can be adjusted to perform well under the so-called rationality postulates of formal argumentation. Second, we provide several notions of argument strength which are studied both meta-theoretically and empirically. In this way the paper contributes a formal model of reasoning with higher-order uncertainty with possible applications in artificial intelligence and human cognition.

Denunciations of Sorcery as Demonic Possession in Old Russian Izmaragd

Old Russian scribes repeatedly tried to refute and devalue the abilities of the sorcerers in works of various genres. However, despite all attempts to instill in people a negative attitude towards sorcery, in the seventeenth century, both commoners and rulers turned for help to magicians, sorcerers, whisperers, astrologers, shamans, etc. at difficult times of their lives. A centuries-old tradition behind such appeals forced preachers to use various poetological and psychological methods of persuasion and suggestion. This article explores the rhetorical suggestive techniques and features of the argumentation system in homilies against sorcery, which are part of Izmaragd, an Old Russian collection of regulatory texts of stable composition. The author refers to The Homily of the Holy Fathers on Sorcery, a part of the 16th-century Izmaragd, and The Homily of St John Chrysostom on Those Who Are Cured of Illness by Sorcery, which is part of the Izmaragd. In 17th-century Izmaragd, The Homily of the Holy Fathers about Sorcery is part of The Homily about Those Who Are Treated by Sorcery and does not exist separately as an independent text. Therefore, referring to these texts, one can trace how the original suggestive rhetorical devices and argumentation change. The study demonstrates that in comparison with The Homily of the Holy Fathers about Sorcery, The Homily about Those Who Are Treated by Sorcery, uses a richer palette of rhetorical and psychological methods of influencing the audience. The communicative goal of convincing people to refuse to turn to sorcerers is achieved in different ways. Perhaps due to the brevity of the text itself, The Homily of the Holy Fathers on Sorcery employs simple traditional means, i. e. multiple repetitions and appeal to authority (indirect quotations). The Homily about Those Who Are Treated by Sorcery employs a different, more subtle technology of speech hypnosis in the form of direct and contextual suggestions. In addition to the rhetorical devices typical of old Russian sermons (repetitions, rhetorical questions, exclamations, appeals, comparison, etc.), the text contains an extensive system of argumentation. Appeals to authority (in particular, its subtype – appeal to fame) combine with examples that are a model of behaviour and an anti-model, as well as with maxims of a different nature (intimidating, containing promises). The two Homilies demonstrate two completely different systems of speech impact on the audience. It is unnecessary to talk about the intentional transformation of original rhetorical suggestive devices and systems of argumentation in relation to these texts. Most likely, The Homily of the Holy Fathers about Sorcery inherits the oral tradition of delivering sermons and therefore is based on simple methods of suggestion easily perceived by the ear, and The Homily about Those Who Are Treated by Sorcery, conceived as a written text, was created based on old rhetorical schools.

Turkey’s security role in the Gulf region: exploring the case of a newcomer

ABSTRACT This study explores Turkey as a newcomer to Gulf security. It addresses why Turkish decision-makers want Turkey to play an elevated security role in the Gulf. It offers a holistic yet detailed outlook of Turkey’s potential enhanced security role and develops a systematic argument that assesses Ankara's aspiration, will, and capacity to play such a role. Finally, it adopts a comparative perspective to show how the regional actors (Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and Iran) might perceive an enhanced Turkish security role in the Gulf; and where Turkey stands vis-à-vis the capacity of other extra-regional actors (the U.S., China, India, and Russia) concerning Gulf security.

“They Don’t Choose the Times...”: an Essay on the Alexander Kushner’s Doxa and Paradoxes (Idiomatics and Ideology)

The article is focused on the Alexander Kushner’s poem “They don’t Choose the Times...”. We analyze the whole text and its first lines “They don't choose the times, / They live and die in them”, which have been fixed in the Russian proverbial and quotation fund. Based on the linguistic analysis of the text, in particular, on the idiomatic approach, I attempt to deconstruct the poem. As it is shown, the key maxim oscillates between universal and situational meaning. The text of the poem realizes a rhetorical system of arguments to accept modernity and turns the paradoxical maxim into a rhetorical argument. The final stanza deserves special attention. The phrase from the criminal procedural discourse “to take fingerprints” plays the main role in it. The use of this figure of speech betrays the subject’s specific understanding of history and modernity. The system of text arguments appears to be disordered and contradictory. In my opinion, it can be explained by the traumatic nature of the Stalin’s era. The subject convinces to accept modernity not an imaginary interlocutor (a reader) as of himself, because he feels the danger of political persecution for having different views. The linguistic analysis of the poem “They don't Choose the Times... ” allows us to attribute this text to the official Soviet poetry only judging by immanent features.

The Saints and the State: The Mormon Troubles in Illinois

The Saints and the State: The Mormon Troubles in Illinois

Диалектика обращения капитала в контексте эволюционной динамики экономических систем

Introduction: the article reflects the author’s vision of solving an urgent problem for modern social sciences – a systematic representation of the dialectics of capital circulation in the context of the evolutionary dynamics of economic systems. Aims: to research and systematize the main provisions of capital circulation dialectics in the context of the evolutionary dynamics of economic systems in different phase states of their existence. The set aim makes it possible to present the ontology of the research object, and to prevent distortion towards solving local scientific problems, without considering causal connections during development. Methods: the article is written in a descriptive key, relying on the cognitive potential of the dialectical system-historical method, supplemented by individual elements of the formation approach and the theory of capital circulation. Results: the work presents a system of arguments proving that to derive the process of capital circulation in relation to various phases of the evolutionary dynamics of the capitalist system is possible using the cognitive potential of the dialectical system-historical method, supplemented by certain elements of the method of ascent from the abstract to the concrete. Specific features of capital circulation process within the framework of the phase dynamics of the capitalist system evolution have been highlighted. It is argued that capitalism, as a system, has a limited resource of its being, and develops in the form of a logical chain: “the genesis of the system – the development of the system based on the deepening division of labor – the growth of individual risks – the expansion of markets – the single global market – the halt of development – the decline of the system”. Conclusions: the results systematized in this article in the future may become the scientific and methodological basis for future research works devoted to the systematic representation of the dialectic of capital in the context of the evolutionary dynamics of economic systems.

СОЗДАНИЕ АГРОБИОТЕХНОПАРКОВ КАК УСЛОВИЕ ДОСТИЖЕНИЯ ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО СУВЕРЕНИТЕТА И ПРОДОВОЛЬСТВЕННОЙ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ РОССИИ

In the article the authors justify the necessity of implementing projects on creating agrobiotechnoparks as one of the conditions for achieving technological sovereignty and food security in Russia. The speed, intensity and efficiency of achieving the designated national objectives depend on the choice of specific territories for the implementation of these projects. The authors set a goal: to substantiate the feasibility of implementing such a project on the territory of the resort city of Sochi. The methodological basis was the analysis of spatial and temporal data of the sectoral development of Sochi, logical-structural analysis and specification of arguments reflecting the advantages of the territory in the context of systematization of key opportunities from the creation of an agrobiotechnopark. As a result, the authors have proposed a system of arguments proving the feasibility and prospects of creating an agrobiotechnopark in the territory of the city-resort of Sochi.

Композитор-философ как ключевая фигура музыкальной эстетики (на примере духовного опыта П. И. Чайковского)

The focus of the authors’ scholarly interest is turned to composers-philosophers and philosophers-composers as the crucial figures of musical aesthetics realized in the space of phenomenology. The attention bestowed on such artists makes it possible to approach the understanding of music as an endeavor of transcending, which forms by itself the highest value. Neglecting the latter in the process of mastery of the art of music leads people to “one-dimensionality,” making them admittedly on the decline. When immersing in the inner world of the composer-philosopher or the philosopher-composer, the recipient, essentially, studies the depths of his or her own self, actualizing the dialogue of the artist and the valuator. The criteria for the genuine character of such a dialogue is formed particularly by the process of transcending, under the sign of which music appears in the guise of a meta-philosophical genre. When mastering the dialectics of being realized by musical means of expression, the human being acquires a unity of essence and existence. The authors turn to the personality of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, considering it appropriate to examine him as a composer-philosopher. Constructing a system of argumentation, they turn their attention towards the great musician’s reading circle, his cultural preferences and antipathies, his students, who manifested themselves in the sphere of philosophical knowledge and in the sphere of the art of music, as well as the musical compositions which have reflected the master’s philosophical ideas. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the study of the musical legacy of the composers-philosophers and the philosophers-composers would help overcome the discontinuity between life and art, when music, remaining aside from the everyday realities experienced by the human being, turn out to be incapable of inspiring him to spiritual wakefulness. As a result, its mission is narrowed down to adornment of everyday life, which inevitably leads to the primitivization of music itself and of the individuals consuming it. Turning to the experience of being of the composers-philosophers would make it possible to overcome this vicious circle.

РИТОРИЧНІСТЬ УКРАЇНСЬКИХ ПОЛЬСЬКОМОВНИХ ТРАКТАТІВ МОГИЛЯНСЬКОЇ ДОБИ

The article is characterized that the rhetorical parameters of the Ukrainian Polish-language treatises of the Mohylian period: Cassian Sakowicz “Perspective and explanation of delusions, heresies and superstitions of the Greco- Roman Church” (“Επανόρθόσις albo Perspectiwa y obiasnienie”) (1642), Petro Mohyla “The Lithos, or the Stone from the pilgrimage of the Holy Russian Orthodox Church” (“ΛΙΘОΣ abo kamień z procy prawdy Cerkwie Świętey Prawosławney Ruskiey. Na skruszenie fałecznoćiemney Perspektiwy albo raczey Paszkwilu od Kassiana Sakowicza” (1644), Ivan Dubovych “Image of the Eastern Orthodox Church” (“Hierarchia abo o zwierzchności w Cerkwi Bożey”) (1644), Pachomius Voyna-Oransky “The Mirror, or the Curtain” (“ZWIERCIADŁO albo ZASŁONA od Przewielebnego Oyca Pachomiusza Woyny Orańskiego, z łaski Bożey y Ś. Stolice Apostolskiey Episkopa Pińskiego y Turowskiego naprezik uszczypliwey PERSPEKTYWIE przez X. Kassiana Sakowicza zlożonego Archimandry Dubieńskiego zebraney y napisaney ic. ic. WYSTAWIONA”) (1645). It is emphasized that their appearance was influenced by both historical and political circumstances in Ukraine and trends that were widespread in Europe at that time. Through the prism of rhetoric, the individual style of the authors is studied, the techniques of persuasive text creation used in the works, the formative principles of the argumentation system are separated, their connection with apologetics is traced, the peculiarities of the theologians’ use of methods and approaches to the interpretation of the Holy Scripture, which the authors interpreted in accordance with their religious beliefs, which were in permanent dialogue with a specific addressee, opponent and their works. The study of the influence of the Renaissance-Reformation and Counter- Reformation literature of Western Europe on the development of treatises was significantly deepened, and the reception of the works by their opponents was studied. It is proven that the works were aimed at a wide audience, as they were based on the rules of behavior and morality of a decent Christian, their purpose was to convey to believers the basic norms of Christian morality, spread religious beliefs, and interpret the biblical text. And their rhetorical accents increased the emotional and evaluative expressiveness of speech, giving their works persuasiveness, allowing writers to influence readers and make them understand their religious position, focusing on important theological issues and subjects of controversy. They not only had a special literary and aesthetic value, but also served as the basis of the treatises of the second half of the 18th century, which continued the inter-confessional dispute, occupied an important place in the contemporary theological debates and the activation of tolerance in the attitude towards opponents.

A Perspectival Reading of Spinoza's Essence-Existence Distinction

AbstractThis article examines the essence-existence distinction in Spinoza's theory of modes. This distinction is commonly made in two ways. First, essence and existence are separated by cause. Essences are understood to follow vertically from the essence of God, while existence follows horizontally from other modes. I present textual and systematic arguments against such a causal bifurcation. Second, essence and existence are distinguished by their temporal nature. Essence is eternal. Existence is durational. However, in several passages, Spinoza writes that eternity and duration constitute two ways of understanding nature rather than two really distinct aspects of nature.

Towards Evidence Retrieval Cost Reduction in Abstract Argumentation Frameworks with Fallible Evidence

Arguments in argumentation systems cannot always be considered as standalone entities, requiring the consideration of the pieces of evidence they rely on. This evidence might have to be retrieved from external sources such as databases or the web, and each attempt to retrieve a piece of evidence comes with an associated cost. Moreover, a piece of evidence may be available in a given scenario but not in others, and this is not known beforehand. As a result, the collection of active arguments (whose entire set of evidence is available) that can be used by the argumentation machinery of the system may vary from one scenario to another. In this work, we consider an Abstract Argumentation Framework with Fallible Evidence that accounts for these issues, and propose a heuristic measure used as part of the acceptability calculus (specifically, for building pruned dialectical trees) with the aim of minimizing the evidence retrieval cost of the arguments involved in the reasoning process. We provide an algorithmic solution that is empirically tested against two baselines and formally show the correctness of our approach.

AC/DC: Adaptive Cutoffs and Disputable Cutoffs for Robust Critical Transactions in Smart-Contracts

To guarantee delivery of their intended functionalities in the presence of unresponsive parties, current smart-contracts cut users off from being able to commit their responses after a fixed period of time has elapsed. However, current blockchains have limited transaction processing capacities, so a fixed amount of time will not always be sufficient to receive every critical transaction (C-TX). This paper presents a mechanism for adaptive cutoffs (ACs) which ensures that users retain the opportunity to commit C-TXs despite blockchain congestion, and enables early cutoffs when the number of required C-TXs is low. A non-interactive argument system for setting adaptive cutoffs under the current Ethereum Virtual Machine is described. Additionally, disputable cutoffs (DCs) are presented, which are a more efficient approach used in parallel to ACs based on a bisection-based dispute. Furthermore, it’s empirically demonstrated that an AC/DC-enabled smart-contract can receive a larger number of C-TXs than its non-adaptive counterparts when user responsiveness is slowed due to denial of service or congestion.

Political economy of modern strategic management

The article explores the actual problem of the development of a new architectonics of the world economy and the world community, the problem of theoretical, methodological, paradigmatic changes in the system of managing these processes at the micro and macro levels. The aim of the article is a comprehensive study of modern strategic management from the standpoint of the political and economic orientation of its functions, which allows us to redefine the role of strategic management in managing the future of specific objects in a new reality that is born as a result of the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into production and management processes and in resolving contradictions of object management on the platform of the globalized digital economy. The use of philosophical, institutional, systemic, civilization, and interdisciplinary approaches to the analysis of the socio-economic nature of modern strategic management and its functions made it possible to outline and define their pluralistic, polysystemic essence and role, to substantiate the possibility of recognizing a new direction in the modern political economy of management. The article accumulates a system of arguments in favor of such a scientific position.