mwang@watmath.UUCP (mwang) (03/12/84)
_D_E_P_A_R_T_M_E_N_T _O_F _C_O_M_P_U_T_E_R _S_C_I_E_N_C_E
_U_N_I_V_E_R_S_I_T_Y _O_F _W_A_T_E_R_L_O_O
_S_E_M_I_N_A_R _A_C_T_I_V_I_T_I_E_S
_R_E_C_R_U_I_T_I_N_G _S_E_M_I_N_A_R
- Thursday, March 15, 1984.
Dr. Robin Cohen of the University of Toronto will speak
on ``A Computational Model for the Analysis of Argu-
ments''.
TIME: 3:30 PM
ROOM: MC 5158
ABSTRACT
This research proposes a model for an argument under-
standing system - a natural language understanding sys-
tem which processes arguments. The form of input con-
sidered in one-way communication in a conversational
setting, where the speaker tries to convince the hearer
of a particular point of view. The main contributions
are: (i) a theory of expected coherent structure
which limits analysis to the reconstruction of particu-
lar transmission forms (ii) a theory of linguistic
clues which assigns a functional interpretation to spe-
cial words and phrases used by the speaker to indicate
structure (iii) a theory of evidence relationships
which includes the demand for pragmatic analysis to ac-
comodate beliefs not currently held. A system designed
to incorporate these theories could be used to analyze
the structure of arguments - the necessary first step
for a hearer, before judging credibility and respond-
ing.
March 12, 1984