Burden of Proof, Presumption and Argumentation

Douglas Walton holds the Assumption Chair in Argumentation Studies and is Distinguished Research Fellow of the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric at the University of Windsor, Canada. His most recent book is Methods of Argumentation (Cambridge University Press, 2013). Walton's work has been used to prepare better legal arguments and to help develop artificial intelligence. His books have been translated worldwide and he attracts students from many countries to study with him. A festschrift honoring his contributions, Dialectics, Dialogue and Argumentation: An Examination of Douglas Walton's Theories of Reasoning and Argument, edited by C. Reed and C. W. Tindale (2010), shows how his theories are increasingly finding applications in computer science.

1. Introduction to basic concepts; 2. Burdens of proof in legal reasoning; 3. Presumption in legal reasoning; 4. Shifting of the burden of proof in witness testimony; 5. Burden of proof in dialogue systems; 6. Solving the problems of burden of proof; 7. Burdens of proof in different types of dialogue; 8. Burdens of proof in everyday conversational arguments.