Weighing the Strength of Arguments

The concept of strength or weight of an argument appears frequently in argumentation theory. However, there is no commonly accepted definition of argument weighing. Broadly speaking, weighing is understood as either the determination of the degree of support an argument provides for a conclusion, or as the comparison of the relative strength of a set of arguments. This book brings together a representative sample of contemporary treatments of argument strength to facilitate comparison, understanding and discussion. Written by recognized specialists, and containing an introduction establishing the state of the art, it gives coherence to the discussion of the concept of strength of an argument, making it of great interest to anyone interested in language, arguments and logic. The first three parts of this book are devoted to the rhetorical, logical, and dialectical concepts of argument strength and weighing, respectively, while the last two parts are devoted to the weighing of reasons within the deliberative genre and to political and legal argumentation.