Argumentation Research Articles

Identification of and adaptation to students’ preinstructional beliefs in introductory communication research methods: Contributions of interactive web technology

Students’ preinstructional, experientially‐based beliefs are known to affect their ability to learn science concepts and presumed to affect their ability to learn social science concepts in much the same fashion. From writings captured throughout several years of online instruction, three clusters of preinstructional beliefs can be identified among students in a required research methods course: beliefs about their own expertise (especially the belief that being an expert in communication means one is a skillful communicator); beliefs about scientific inquiry into communication (especially the belief that communication research only confirms commonsense); and beliefs about causality (especially the belief that personal knowledge of exceptions disproves general cause‐effect relationships). These beliefs interfere with learning of methods, but can be changed through instructional formats that embed methods concepts in online argumentative dialogue.

Concession and argumentation in Latin

Concession and argumentation in Latin

Brèves observations comparatives sur la considération des situations économiques dans la jurisprudence administrative

Les disputes de compétence entre juge administratif et juge judiciaire sont vives en France, particulièrement en matière économique. À la compétence juridictionnelle, se mêlent des arguments substantiels quant à l’aptitude des deux sortes de juges, en raison de leur culture et du droit qu’ils appliquent, à bien remplir leur office. Si l’on prend comme critère la considération efficace des situations économiques, le droit administratif révèle, notamment en matière contractuelle et à propos des expropria~tions, une proximité plus grande que celle du rapport entre le juge judiciaire et ces situations. L’analyse est plus difficile concernant la question de la régulation des marchés. En effet, la jurisprudence administrative est devenue très offensive. Mais elle demeure dans une certaine logique d’affrontement aux secteurs, le juge judi~ciaire laissant davantage faire une autorité de régulation intériorisée au marché.

Con Amore: Henry Johnstone, Jr.'s Philosophy of Argumentation

Henry Johnstone's philosophical development was guided by a persistent need to reform the concept of validity -either by reinterpreting it or by finding a substitute for it. This project lead Johnstone into interesting confrontations with the concept of rhetoric and especiaUy with the work of Chaim Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca. The project culminated in a failed attempt to develop a formal ethics of rhetoric and argumentation, but this attempt was itself not consistent with some of Johnstone's other characterizations ofan ethics of argument ation. A virtue ethics would be truer to the Johnstonian philosophical project than a formal ethics of argument. Resume

The quantum and classical domains as provisional parallel coexistents

We consider the problem of therelationship between the quantum and theclassical domains from the point of view that itis possible to speak of a direct physicaldescription of quantum systems havingphysical properties. We put emphasis, inevidencing it, on the specific quantum conceptof indistinguishability of identical in aconceptual way (and not in a logical way in thevein of ``da Costa's school''). In essence, thesubsequent argumentation deals with therelationship between the classical and thequantum, with the problem of the quantum theoryof measurement. Even in the absence of adefinitive response to this problem, the bestattitude for the time being, as we cannot reducethe classical and the quantum one to the other,seems to be to accept their pacific coexistence,and this is possible with the toleranceprinciple of the ``pragmatic truth'' developedfrom a logical point of view by Newton daCosta. RESUMO. As areas quântica eclassica enquanto provisorioscoexistentes parallelos. Abordamos oproblema da relacao entre as areasdo quântico e do classico considerandoque e possivel falar de umadescricao fisica direta de sistemas quânticos tendo propriedades.Insistimos, para isto, sobre o conceitoespecificamente quântico daindicernabilidade dos identicos de um ponto devista conceptual (nao de um ponto de vistalogico a maneira da ``escola da Costa'')como evidenciando isto. O essencial daargumentacao a seguir tem como enfoquea relacao classico-quântico, como problema da teoria quântica damedicao. Mesmo nao tendo umaresposta definitiva para este, a melhor atitudepor enquanto, ja que nao se podemreduzir um ao outro o classico e oquântico, nos parece ser esta de aceitar suacoexistencia pacifica, o que epossivel com o principio detolerância da ``verdade pragmatica''desenvolvida logicamente por Newton da Costa. ReSUMe. Les domaines quantique etclassique, provisoires coexistantsparalleles.Le probleme des rapportsentre les domaines quantique et classique estaborde en adoptant le point de vue selonlequel il est possible de parler de descriptionphysique directe de systemes quantiquesayant des proprietes. Pour ce faire, unaccent particuler est mis sur le conceptspecifiquement quantiqued'indiscernabilite des identiques demaniere conceptuelle (et non logique ala maniere de l'``ecole de da Costa'').L'argumentation porte ensuite essentiellementsur la relation classique-quantique, avec laquestion de la theorie quantique de lamesure. Meme en l'absence d'une reponsedefinitive a ce sujet, la meilleureattitude a prendre semble, en l'etatactuel des choses, puisque le classique et lequantique ne peuvent etre reduits l'una l'autre, de s'en tenir a leurcoexistence pacifique, ce qu'autorise leprincipe de tolerance de la ``veritepragmatique'' developpee sous l'aspectlogique par Newton da Costa. An essay in honour of Newton da Costawith admiration, friendship and saudades.

Belief and Negation

This paper argues for the importance of the distinction between internal and external negation over expressions for belief. The common fallacy is to confuse statement like (1) and (2): (1) John believes that the school is not closed on Tuesday; (2) John does not believe that the school is closed on Tuesday. The fallacy has ramifications in teaching, reasoning, and argumentation. Analysis of the fallacy and suggestions for teaching are offered.

?Doing the lesson? or ?doing science?: Argument in high school genetics

This article focuses on the capacity of students to develop and assess ar- guments during a high genetics instructional sequence. The research focused on the locating distinction in argumentation discourse between doing vs. doing school or doing the lesson (Bloome, Puro, & Theodorou, 1989). Participants in this classroom case study were high (9th grade) students in Galicia (Spain). Students were observed, videotaped, and audiotaped while working in groups over six class ses- sions. Toulmin's argument pattern was used as a tool for the analysis of students' con- versation and other frames were used for analyzing other dimensions of students' dialogue; (e.g., epistemic operations, use of analogies, appeal to consistency, and causal relations). Instances of doing and instances of doing the lesson are identified and dis- cussed as moments when the classroom discourse is dominated either by talking science or displaying the roles of students. The different arguments constructed and co-constructed by students, the elements of the arguments, and the sequence are also discussed, showing a dominance of claims and a lesser frequence of justifications or warrants. Implications for developing effective contexts to promote argumentation and science dialogue in the classroom are discussed. 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 84:757- 792, 2000.

The Benefits of Arguing in a Team

In a complex, dynamic multiagent setting, coherent team actions are often jeopardized by conflicts in agents' beliefs, plans, and actions. Despite the considerable progress in teamwork research, the challenge of intrateam conflict resolution has remained largely unaddressed. This article presents CONSA, a system we are developing to resolve conflicts using argumentation-based negotiations. CONSA focuses on exploiting the benefits of argumentation in a team setting. Thus, CONSA casts conflict resolution as a team problem, so that the recent advances in teamwork can be brought to bear during conflict resolution to improve argumentation flexibility. Furthermore, because teamwork conflicts sometimes involve past teamwork, teamwork models can be exploited to provide agents with reusable argumentation knowledge. Additionally, CONSA also includes argumentation strategies geared toward benefiting the team, rather than the individual, and techniques to reduce argumentation overhead.

A reply to Professor Seedhouse.

This brief reply gives a few references and clarifies some points in order to emphasize that a number of Professor Seedhouse's assertions are debatable and that his criticism of slovenly...

Electronic Mail as a Forum for Argumentative Interaction in Higher Education Studies

This article reports a study in which thirty-one undergraduate students practiced academic argumentation by electronic mail (e-mail). In the two “tutorled” e-mail study groups the discussion topics were selected by the tutor, while in the two self-directed “student-led” groups selection was by the students. The quantity and quality of student-student interaction, and the factors associated with this were investigated. The results indicated that 42 percent of the students' messages (n = 441) were interactive in nature, indicating at least one reference to fellow students' messages. When difficult contents were addressed, interaction in the tutor-led groups was more common than in the student-led groups. The student-student interaction was mainly non-argumentative: 62 percent of the students' references (n = 259) expressed something other than the taking a position, 24 percent agreement, 10 percent grounded disagreement, and 4 percent non-grounded disagreement. The students in the student-led groups grounded their disagreement more often, while the students in the tutor-led groups more often expressed agreement. The study supports the superiority of the student-led mode of e-mail studying over the tutor-led mode when promoting argumentative dialogue.

Numerical Analysis of Rotating Channel Flow with an Anisotropic $k-\varepsilon$ Turbulence Model

An anisotropic k-.epsilon. turbulence model for predicting the rotating flows is proposed with the simple inclusion of a new parameter dealing with the extra straining effects in the .epsilon.-equation. This model is employed to compute the effects of Coriolis forces on fully-developed flow in a rotating channel. The predicted results indicate that the present model captures fairly well the striking rotational-induced effects on the Reynolds stresses and the mean flow distributions, including the argumentation of turbulent transport on the unstable side (pressure surface) of the channel and its damping on the stable side (suction surface).

Democracy, argument and the university

ABSTRACT Universities are places of argument. But what standards should apply to the argumentative university? The article begins by examining some ideas of Derrida. With reservations, a pertinent question is extracted: is free and fair argument a tenable criterion for the university? The article assesses critically Derrida's account of ‘the lovely competition’ of ideas, his emphasis on other communicative values. By contrast, Putnam puts faith in argumentative dialogue, and rejects Derrida's paradoxical scepticism. Yet Putnam's theory also exposes problems in formulating definitive criteria to assess argument within an institutional setting. Other views are considered, notably from Habermas, and the conclusion is that argument remains the lifeblood of the academy, despite the dilemmas of evaluation which are unresolvable.

Anmut 's Gender: The "Marionettentheater" and Kleist's Revision of "Anmut und Würde"

Schiller's famous essay "Über Anmut und Würde" establishes Anmut or Grazie as a feminine quality. Kleist, who seems to be parodying Schillerian argumentation on several levels, reduces Schiller's idealism to material terms by rupturing the link between Geist and Grazie , but he also cancels its association with women—de-humanizing and de-feminizing grace. By taking the arch-feminine virtue of Anmut and appropriating it to mindless or mechanized beings who are specifically gendered male, Kleist reinforces the exclusivity of the male homosocial bonds being developed between the narrator and Herr C... . (GKH)

Multi-Modal Argumentation

The main stream of formal and informal logic as well as more recent work in discourse analysis provides a way of understanding certain arguments that particularly lend themselves to rational analysis. I argue, however, that these, and allied modes of analysis, be seen as heuristic models and not as the only proper mode of argument. This article introduces three other modes of argumen tation that emphasize distinct aspects of human communication, but that, at the same time, must be considered for the full understanding of argumentation. These modes are (1) the emotional, which relates to the realm of feelings, (2) the visceral, which stems from the area of the physical, and (3) the kisceral, which covers the intuitive and non-sensory arenas. At its most extreme the view holds that arguments may be given (almost) wholly within one mode and not be at all susceptible to those methods of argument analysis previously used. A more cautious statement allows that any interactive argument will (possibly) contain elements from various modes, and that to attempt to reduce these all to the rational is prejudiced reductionism.

Teaching History through Argumentation

Teaching History through Argumentation

Savez-vous argumenter à la mode... à la mode des petits ?

This study examines two main assumptions : 1 / that young children are capable of implementing verbal argumentative behavior that is appropriate to the communicative situation, and 2 / that dialogue function and argumentative function are tightly linked. Ninety nine students aged four to nine took part in the experiment. They were asked to produce an argumentative dialogue either with another student or with the experimenter. The protocols were submitted to two analyses along complementary dimensions : analysis of typological argument markers (judgment markers...) and an analysis of the interactive structure of the dialogues (stacked utterances). At four to five years of age, the observed argument structures were still rudimentary (the facts were presented with no judgment). As of the age of six to seven, children start to take stances and produce judgments, without however taking their dialogue partner's arguments into account. Modes of text argumentation and genuine interactive dialogue are not mastered before the age of eight to nine. The interlocutory situation appears to have a decisive effect on the type of cooperation which emerges between interlocutors : when the interlocutor is the experimenter, it is not enough to « addon » ; rather there is a need to take what he says into account, and present what is said in a « negotiated » fashion.

Production of elaborated argumentative discourse: The role of cooperativeness

The analysis of argumentative discourse produced by 68 students aged 10–17 reveals two facets: argumentative discourse involves both dialogal and argumentative operations. When the dialogue goal calls for the speakers to reach a compromise on a debate topic, they are prompted to negotiate the discourse object: negotiation on content of the exchanges (argumentative cooperativeness which presupposes an articulation of each partner’s arguments with the other partner’) and on the level of the formal argumentative markers of negotiation. The key finding is that dialogal and argumentative operations are functionally linked: the percentage of markers of utterance involvement, axiological forms and modalizations is much higher in argumentative cooperative discourse as compared to discourse where cooperativeness is only dialogal (in which the speakers merely regulate turn taking and maintain thematic continuity). Furthermore, the differentiation in frequency of use of negotiation markers as a function of type of cooperativeness increases with age. Argumentative dialogue thus emerges as a complex form of language behavior which brings interconnected language operations into play.

Introduction: Ramus, Perelman and Argumentation, a way through the wood

Introduction: Ramus, Perelman and Argumentation, a way through the wood

Reasoning and Communication: Thinking Critically About Arguments. By Josina M. Makau

(1991). Reasoning and Communication: Thinking Critically About Arguments. By Josina M. Makau. Argumentation and Advocacy: Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 44-46.

Argumentation and the Arab voice in Western bestsellers

Argumentation and the Arab voice in Western bestsellers