Legal Argumentation and Evidence by Douglas Walton

Legal Argumentation and Evidence by Douglas Walton

Walton focuses in this new book on how reasoning operates in trials and other legal contexts, with special emphasis on the law of evidence. This dialogical model gives new meaning to the key notions of relevance and probative weight, with the latter analyzed in terms of pragmatic criteria for what constitutes plausible evidence rather than truth.

“In this book Douglas Walton builds on his earlier research and shows how it has application to many of the difficult questions that arise in legal reasoningHe brings a dialectical theory of argumentation as well as a theory of plausible reasoning to bear on the traditional problems of legal evidence. Legal Argumentation and Evidence is an original and important contribution not only to legal reasoning but also to the development of argumentation theory, critical thinking, and reasoning in general. It will be of interest to legal scholars but also to argumentation and reasoning theorists who want to keep abreast of the most recent developments in the field.”

—Hans V. Hansen, University of Windsor

“Walton makes a significant contribution to the understanding of legal argumentation and to the concept of relevance in evidence law. He goes beyond formal logic and adds an analysis of abduction and plausible inference to fill gaps in what a deductive system can accomplish. The resulting theory provides an important insight into the relationships among the steps of a legal argument. The dialogue structure on which it is based should prove to be of great value in understanding strategy, either for the advocate, the evaluator of evidence, or the student of the legal process.”

—Kevin Saunders, University of Oklahoma Law School

“Impressively researched and clearly written, this book is a notable contribution to the study of legal argumentation.”

—Derek Allen University of Toronto Quarterly

Douglas Walton is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Winnipeg. He is the author of four other books published by Penn State Press: The Place of Emotion in Argument (1992), Arguments from Ignorance (1995), Appeal to Expert Opinion (1997), and Appeal to Popular Opinion (1998).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780271058351
ISBN 10	0271058358
Title	Legal Argumentation and Evidence
Author	Douglas Walton
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Pennsylvania State University Press
Year published	2012-07-15
Number of pages	392
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.