An Approach to Characterize Topic-Centered Argumentation

Abstract

As we engage in a debate with other parties, it is usual that several subjects might come under discussion. In this work, we propose an extension of classic abstract argumentation frameworks which includes a set of interrelated topics decorating arguments. These topics represent what the arguments are addressing and provide a supporting structure for the analysis of multi-topic argumentation. A notion of “proximity” of an argument to the focus of the debate is introduced, leading to a notion of distance between the topics of the arguments, which is used for proximity-based semantic elaborations.