Legal Argumentation 2012

Legal Argumentation 2012

Last updates:
- 17-02-2012: new version of text Henry Prakken, Legal Argumentation online.

This is a web page for the course Legal Argumentation, which is part of the Core training programme of the PhD training programme of the Faculty of Law, University of Groningen.

Lecturer:

Henry Prakken. Groningen webpages Utrecht webpages

Dates, exact times and locations:

February 23, March 1 + 8;

13.00-14.00, room 1312.0012

14.00-15.00, room 1312.0107A

Course description:
Being able to argue is an essential skill of both legal scholars and legal practicitioners. This part of the course aims to provide the student insight into theoretical accounts of the structure of rational legal argumentation, as well as practical skills to analyse the argumentation structure of a given legal text, to assess the quality of legal arguments and to give a clear logical structuree to one's own argumentative texts.

The following topics will be discussed:

The structure of arguments
Argument and counterargument
Legal argumentation schemes
Assessing the quality of legal arguments

The course is a mixture of lectures and exercises

Reading:

One of the following two books (to be obtained by yourself):

D.N. Walton, Fundamentals of Critical Argumentation. Cambridge etc: Cambridge University Press, 2006 (in English).
M. Henket, Argumentatietheorie en recht, Nijmegen, Ars Aequi Libri,1998 (in Dutch).

Henry Prakken, Legal Argumentation, Groningen 2012 (updated and revised version put online February 17th)

Educational software:

Araucaria.

Download Version 3.1
User Manual

Henry Prakken, Practicing with Araucaria, Groningen, 2009.

Exercises: (to download files, click right mouse and choose "Save target as ..". When downloading an .aml file, make sure to give the file an extension ".aml" and to save it as "all files").

The tent house case with text file and an example visualisation in aml and jpeg format.
Examples from Araucaria's database with example text files:

argument34.txt.
argument116.txt.
argument514.txt

The Invasion in Iraq case, with text file and an example visualisation in aml and jpeg format.
A text file of the Minimum sentences case, with an example visualisation in aml and jpeg format.
Final homework exercise, with text file. (deadline March 14, 17:00).

Lectures:

date topics Reading slides

Thu 23-02 Theoretical background
The structure of arguments
Implicit premises Walton Chapter 1 sections 1,2,6; Chapter 4 sections 1-6, or:
Henket: Chapters 1+2; ch. 3 sections 3.1, 3.2, 3.3; ch. 4 sections 4.1, 4.5, 4.6.
Practicing with Araucaria slides 23/2

Thu 01-03 Counterarguments
Dialectical status of arguments
Deductive and defeasible arguments Walton Chapter 1 sections 4,5,7; Chapter 2 sections 1,2,5,6,7; or:
Henket sections 3.4, 3.6, 5.5.
Prakken (2012), sections 1-3 slides 1/3

Thu 08-03 Argumentation schemes
Assessing the quality of arguments Walton Chapter 3; or:
Henket sections 5.1-5.5.
Prakken (2012), sections 4-5 slides 8/3

date	topics	Reading	slides
Thu 23-02	Theoretical background The structure of arguments Implicit premises	Walton Chapter 1 sections 1,2,6; Chapter 4 sections 1-6, or: Henket: Chapters 1+2; ch. 3 sections 3.1, 3.2, 3.3; ch. 4 sections 4.1, 4.5, 4.6. Practicing with Araucaria	slides 23/2
Thu 01-03	Counterarguments Dialectical status of arguments Deductive and defeasible arguments	Walton Chapter 1 sections 4,5,7; Chapter 2 sections 1,2,5,6,7; or: Henket sections 3.4, 3.6, 5.5. Prakken (2012), sections 1-3	slides 1/3
Thu 08-03	Argumentation schemes Assessing the quality of arguments	Walton Chapter 3; or: Henket sections 5.1-5.5. Prakken (2012), sections 4-5	slides 8/3