Argüman
Argüman
Python library
Argüman is a free and open source software for collective structured argumentation and argument analysis via argumentation graphs or argument maps in which the type of connections can be specified.[2][3][4][5][6] It allows users to create collaborative "semantic maps" of arguments in well structured tree formats and share them with an audience and potential participants.[7][3][8] Arguman.org was an open structured social debate platform that implemented the software.[9] It is down as of 2023. There also is a mobile version of the tool. The project was started, in 2014, and largely built by developers in Turkey.[1]
Some studies used or investigated excerpts of argumentations on the platform.[10][11] Unlike the larger and functional alternative Kialo, which is structured using only 'Pro' and 'Con' relations,[2] argüman arguments are structured by three types of premises – 'because', 'but', and 'however'.[3] As of the latest version, debates are presented in their entirety as a large tree which may be harder to navigate than other formats – for instance, trees "can become extremely dense, and the interface does not make it obvious which arguments the user should pay attention to".[2] Users can also flag arguments for fallacies. Arguman.org also had a Turkish-language subdomain.[12]
A researcher suggested the concept of the Semantic Web-interoperability could be useful for argumentative structures on the Web, going beyond the conventional flat structures of discussions and lack of characterizations of their components as implemented in argüman.[13] There is research into how to automatically use these collaborative argumentation graphs, which is a "very active" topic in Artificial Intelligence.[4] There also is research into applying conclusion-making methods to the debates or their data such as bipolar weighted argumentation frameworks – this could be a way to find out what the current conclusion of debates like "Computer Science is not actually a science" is.[14] A study suggests it could be useful for the development of critical thinking skills.[15]