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Argumentation in Political Deliberation
Edited by Marcin Lewiński and Dima Mohammed
[Benjamins Current Topics 76] 2015
► pp. 151–176

Debating multiple positions in multi-party online deliberation

Sides, positions, and cases

| ArgLab, Nova Institute of Philosophy (IFILNOVA-FCSH) | Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Dialectical approaches traditionally conceptualize argumentation as a discussion in which two parties debate on “two sides of an issue” (pro and con). However, many political issues engender multiple positions. This is clear in multi-party online deliberations in which often an array of competing positions is debated in one and the same discussion. A proponent of a given position thus addresses a number of possible opponents, who in turn may hold incompatible opinions. The goal of this chapter is to shed extra light on such “polylogical” clash of opinions in online deliberation, by examining the multi-layered participation in actual online debates. The examples are drawn from the readers’ discussions on Osama bin Laden’s killing in online versions of two British newspapers: The Guardian and The Telegraph. As a result of the analysis, a distinction between sides, positions, and cases in argumentative deliberation is proposed.

Keywords: argumentation, deliberation, online discussions, political argument, polylogue
Published online: 10 July 2015
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.76.07lew
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