Argumentation and Decision Making in Professional Practice

Abstract

How is argumentation used in professional practice? As schools aim to ensure that students are college-and-career ready, classroom practices might be informed by argumentation in the professions. An analysis of evidence-based reasoning in 3 professions—engineering, law, and medicine—offers out-of-school perspectives on the practices and purposes of argumentation. In these fields, sound argumentation is crucial to successful real-world decision making: Is this building design sound? What is the best course of action for this patient? How should this lawsuit be decided? This article brings the role of professional judgment to the fore, as well as professional norms and values in the construction of arguments in the professions. Similarities and contrasts in argumentation and decision making across the 3 professions are drawn.

Notes

Julie Gainsburg is Chair of the Department of Secondary Education, California State University, Northridge. John Fox is a Professor of Engineering Science and Cognitive Systems at the Department of Engineering Science, Oxford University. Lawrence M. Solan is a Don Forchelli Professor of Law and Director of Graduate Education at Brooklyn Law School.

^1. See Solan (2010) for further discussion of the language issues in this case.