Assumption University Chair in Argumentation Studies

Dr. Douglas Walton
Assumption University Chair in Argumentation Studies, Distinguished Research Fellow, Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric (CRRAR), University of Windsor

Argumentation can be abstractly defined as the interaction of different arguments for and against some conclusion. Argumentation is a set of context-sensitive practical methods used to help a user identify, analyze and evaluate arguments, especially common ones of the kind often found in everyday discourse. The theory of argumentation is a rich, interdisciplinary area of research straddling philosophy, law, communication studies, linguistics, psychology and artificial intelligence. My area of research in this field is on the identification, analysis and evaluation of arguments, but also includes the study of forms of speech closely related to arguments, like explanations and questions. My current research project has the aim of applying tools and techniques developed in argumentation theory and artificial intelligence to problems of analyzing and evaluating argumentation of a kind often used in law. Over the next five years, he plans to continue this research, including both the study of everyday conversational argumentation and argumentation in special contexts like artificial intelligence and law. Part of my effort in the past few years has been to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration by bringing together scholars working in argumentation with researchers working in artificial intelligence (a field of computing) and law. He plans to continue this interdisciplinary initiative, to the extent that he has the resources.

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	Assumption University Chair in Argumentation Studies</h1>

	Dr. Douglas Walton 
	Assumption University Chair in Argumentation Studies, Distinguished Research Fellow, Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric (CRRAR), University of Windsor 
	 
	Argumentation can be abstractly defined as the interaction of different arguments for and against some conclusion.  Argumentation is a set of context-sensitive practical methods used to help a user identify, analyze and evaluate arguments, especially common ones of the kind often found in everyday discourse.  The theory of argumentation is a rich, interdisciplinary area of research straddling philosophy, law, communication studies, linguistics, psychology and artificial intelligence.  My area of research in this field is on the identification, analysis and evaluation of arguments, but also includes the study of forms of speech closely related to arguments, like explanations and questions.  My current research project has the aim of applying tools and techniques developed in argumentation theory and artificial intelligence to problems of analyzing and evaluating argumentation of a kind often used in law.  Over the next five years, he plans to continue this research, including both the study of everyday conversational argumentation and argumentation in special contexts like artificial intelligence and law.  Part of my effort in the past few years has been to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration by bringing together scholars working in argumentation with researchers working in artificial intelligence (a field of computing) and law.  He plans to continue this interdisciplinary initiative, to the extent that he has the resources.