Computational Argumentation 2021/2022

This is the course page of the master course Computational Argumentation 2021/2022. This course was formerly known as Commonsense reasoning and argumentation (INFOCR). You can only do one of these courses. The information below will be continuously updated during period 1.

• Last updates:
  • 03-11-2021: slides HC14 online.
  • 01-11-2021: slides HC13 online.
  • 27-10-2021: slides HC12 online.
  • 25-10-2021: slides HC11 online.
  • 20-10-2021: slides HC10 online.
  • 18-10-2021: slides HC9 online.
  • 11-10-2021: slides HC8 online.
  • 06-10-2021: slides HC7 online.
  • 04-10-2021: slides HC6 online.
  • 29-09-2021: slides HC5 online.
  • 27-09-2021: slides HC4 online.
  • 20-09-2021: slides HC3a+b online.
  • 15-09-2021: slides HC2 online (examples added at 15:15).
  • 13-09-2021: slides HC1 online.
  • 16-08-2021: webpages 2021/2022 online. NB: the first lecture is Monday, 13 September.

  Lecturer

  Henry Prakken

  Course description:

  See the 'Education' page description for a general description of the course and a link tot the course schedule in MyTimetable.

  Prerequisite knowledge:

  At the start of the course the student should have a knowledge of standard propositional and first-order predicate logic and elementary set theory as taught in Logica voor Informatica (Logic for Computer Science) or an equivalent course.

  Reading + software:

  • Online reader Computational Argumentation, Henry Prakken, August 2021 (only the parts specified below in the schedule of the lectures). Please read the note on copyright. A printed version of the reader will be available with A-Eskwadraat.
  • G. Antoniou, A tutorial on default logics. ACM Computing Surveys, Vol. 31, No. 3, September 1999, pp. 337-359.
  • Sections 1 and 2 of T.J.M. Bench-Capon, Ethical approaches and autonomous systems. Artificial Intelligence 281 (2020): 103239.
  • Educational software:
    • OVA-gen, a tool for computing with abstract argumentation frameworks.
    • Toast, an implementation of an ASPIC+ instantiation.

  Examination

  The examination of this course consists of:

  • two exams, a midterm exam about HC 1-7 and a final exam about HC3 (part on argumentation) and HC 4-14 (example exam with answers that covers all lectures);
  • a homework assignment to be done in pairs.

  The exams are "open book but closed notebook": the student is allowed to take paper copies of the course reader and the articles listed above to the exercises and exam, where handwritten notes on these paper copies are allowed. The use of any other material during the exercises or exam is not allowed, unless announced otherwise at this page.

  The final grade of the course is determined as follows. The midterm exam counts for 30%, the final exam for 50%, while the homework assignment counts for 20%. The grades of the two exams and the homework assignment are expressed with one decimal but the final grade is rounded up to whole numbers (so without decimals). An additional requirement for passing is that both the average unrounded grade of the midterm and final exam and the grade for the homework assignment must be at least a 4.0. If this requirement is not met while yet the final grade before rounding up is 5.5 or higher, then the final grade is a 5.

  To qualify for the second-chance exam:

  • the final result after the first-chance exam must be at least a 4 or an AANV, and
  • the student must have handed in a version of the homework exercise that at least satisfies the minimum requirements for this exercise.

  
  For the second-chance exam the student can choose to do a written exam about all lectures as a retake of the original midterm and final exams, and/or to hand in an improved version of the homework assignment. The grade for the written exam counts for 80% while the grade for the improved homework assignment counts for 20%. For calculating the final grade for the second-chance exam the highest of the original and new grades are combined with the original grades of the tests (exams or assignment) that are not retaken and then calculated as for the first-chance exam. Here the requirement to have at least a 4.0 for both the exam and the homework assignment still applies. The deadline for the improved homework assignment is the starting time of the second-chance written exam.

  Topics of the lectures
  

  The tables below contain the schedule, topics and discussed literature of the lectures, as well as exercises on the topic of the lecture. NB: the schedule is provisional and may change if needed, so please check it before each lecture.

  - Lectures (HC):

  lecture	date	topics, reading + exercises	slides
  HC 1	Mon 13-09	Introduction / Default logic 1. Antoniou sections 1, 2.1-2.3.	slides
  HC 2	Wed 15-09	Default logic 2. Antoniou sections 2.4-2.5, 3.1. Exercises: reader 2.1.1-2.1.6	slides two examples
  HC 3	Mon 20-09	Default logic 3 /Abstract argumentation frameworks- semantics 1. Antoniou sections 3, 6 Reader Ch. 3, sections 4.1-4.4 (labeling versions only). Exercises: reader 2.1.7-2.1.14, 3.2.1, 4.8.1, 4.8.3 (with labelings), 4.8.5, 4.8.7, 4.8.8, 4.8.9, 4.8.11 (with labelings).	slides HC3a, slides HC3b
  	Wed 22-09	No lecture
  HC 4	Mon 27-09	Abstract argumentation frameworks - semantics 2. Reader Ch. 4. Exercises: reader 4.8.2, 4.8.3 (with extensions), 4.8.4, 4.8.6, 4.8.10, 4.8.11 (with extensions), 4.8.12-4.8.15.	slides
  HC 5	Wed 29-09	Abstract argumentation frameworks - proof theory. reader Ch. 5. Exercises: reader 5.4.1-5.4.7.	slides
  HC 6	Mon 04-10	Structured argumentation frameworks (1). Reader sections 6.1, 6.2, 6.3.1-6.3.3. Exercises: reader 6.9.1, 6.9.2(1), 6.9.3 (arguments), 6.9.5(1).	slides
  HC 7	Wed 06-10	Structured argumentation frameworks (2). Reader sections 6.3.4, 6.4.1, 6.4.3. Exercises: reader 6.9.2-6.9.7.	slides
  HC 8	Mon 11-10	Structured argumentation frameworks (3). reader sections 6.4.2, 6.4.4-6.4.7, 6.5, 6.7. Exercises: reader 6.9.8 - 6.9.14.	slides
  	Wed 13-10	Midterm exam (11:30-13:30).
  HC 9	Mon 18-10	Structured argumentation frameworks (4) / Dynamics of argumentation (1). Reader sections 6.6, 6.8, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3.1. Exercises: reader 6.9.15-6.9.17, 7.4.1-7.4.3.	slides
  HC 10	Wed 20-10	Dynamics of argumentation (2) / Argumentation as dialogue (1). Reader Chapter 7, Section 8.1-8.3 Exercises: all exercises Chapter 7, exercise 8.6.1-8.6.2	slides
  HC 11	Mon 25-10	Argumentation as dialogue (2). Reader Chapter 8. Exercises: all exercises Chapter 8	slides
  HC 12	Wed 27-10	Legal argumentation (1). Reader sections 9.1, 9.2.1-9.2.3. Exercises: reader 9.4.1-9.4.5.	slides
  HC 13	Mon 01-11	Legal argumentation (2). Reader sections 9.2.4-9.2.5, 9.3. Exercises: reader 9.4.6-9.4.7.	slides
  HC 14	Wed 03-11	Concluding remarks; question time. Readings: Sections 1-2 of Bench-Capon (2020) plus all of the above readings.	slides
  	Mon 08-11	Final exam.