Meta-level Argumentation with Argument Schemes

Arguments in real-world decision making, for example in medical or engineering domains, are often based on patterns of informal argumentation, called argument schemes. In order to improve automated tool support of decision making in such domains, a formal model of argument schemes appears necessary. To address this need, we represent each argument scheme as a defeasible rule in the meta-language, so each application of an argument scheme results in a meta-level argument, and we deal with critical questions via meta-level counter-arguments. In order to understand the interactions between the object-level and meta-level arguments, we introduce bimodal graphs. The utility of the framework is demonstrated by a use case characteristic of the requirements of our partner in the aviation industry.