Argumentation: Reasoning Universalis

Can argumentation form the basis for any form of reasoning, informal or formal logical reasoning? We examine this question from the particular perspective of the recent developments in logic-based Artificial Intelligence (AI). We propose that argumentation provides the wider framework encompassing uniformly all reasoning, with strict or formal logical reasoning being a special boundary case. We also attempt to link this unifying role of argumentation with Aristotle’s original investigation of methods and forrmalisms for the systematic study of human reasoning.