In the late 1990s, AI witnessed an increasing use of the term 'argumentation' within its bounds: in natural language processing, in user interface design, in logic programming and nonmonotonic reasoning, in Al's interface with the legal community, and in the newly emerging field of multi-agent systems. It seemed to me that many of these uses of argumentation were inspired by (of­ ten inspired) guesswork, and that a great majority of the AI community were unaware that there was a maturing, rich field of research in Argumentation Theory (and Critical Thinking and Informal Logic) that had been steadily re­ building a scholarly approach to the area over the previous twenty years or so. Argumentation Theory, on its side; was developing theories and approaches that many in the field felt could have a role more widely in research and soci­ ety, but were for the most part unaware that AI was one of the best candidates for such application.

- List of Figures. List of Tables. Contributing Authors. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1: A Roadmap of Research in Argument and Computation; C. Reed, T.J. Norman. 1.1. Introduction. 1.2. Research in Argument and Computation. 1.3. Conclusions.2: Argument and Multi-Agent Systems; T.J. Norman, D.V. Carbogim, E.C.W. Krabbe, D. Walton. 2.1. Introduction. 2.2. Dialectical Argumentation and Agent Communication. 2.3. Commitment and Roles. 2.4. Types of Dialogue. 2.5. Dialogue Shifts and Embedding. 2.6. Argument Schemes and Critical Questions. 2.7. Models of Agent Dialogue. 2.8. Conclusions and Perspectives.3: Decision Support for Practical Reasoning; R. Girle, D. Hitchcock, P. McBurney, B. Verheij. 3.1. Introduction. 3.2. Practical Reasoning. 3.3. Argument Schemes and Defeasibility. 3.4. Decision Calculi. 3.5. Reasoning under Resource Constraints. 3.6. Integration of Moral Considerations. 3.8. Interface Design. 3.9. Evaluation. 3.10. Conclusions.4: Computational Models, Argumentation Theories and Legal Practice; T. Bench-Capon, J.B. Freeman, H. Hohmann, H. Prakken. 4.1. Introduction. 4.2. A Conceptual Process Model of Legal Argumentation. 4.3. Argumentation Theories and Computational Legal Argument. 4.4. Work in AI and Law. 4.5. Discussion.5: The Persuasion Machine; M.A. Gilbert, F. Grasso, L. Groarke, C. Gurr, J.M. Gerlofs. 5.1. Introduction.5.2. Overview of the Persuasion Machine. 5.3. The Argument Engine. 5.4. Revise User Image. 5.5. Identfy Next Move. 5.6. Prepare Next Move. 5.7. Generate Utterance. 5.8. The Persuasion Machine in Action. 5.9. Conclusions. 5.10. Outstanding Questions and Issues.6: Computational Models of Rhetorical Argument; J. Crosswhite, J. Fox, C. Reed, T. Scaltsas, S. Stumpf. 6.1. Introduction. 6.2. Rhetorical Considerations in a Computational Advice System. 6.3. A Rhetorical Model of Argumentation. 6.4. Discussion. 6.5. Conclusion. Bibliography. Author Index. Topic Index.