The Principle-Based Approach to Abstract Argumentation Semantics

The principle-based or axiomatic approach is a methodology to choose an argumentation semantics for a particular application, and to guide the search for new argumentation semantics. This article gives a complete classification of the fifteen main alternatives for argumentation semantics using the twenty-seven main principles discussed in the literature on abstract argumentation, extending Baroni and Giacomin’s original classification with other semantics and principles proposed in the literature. It also lays the foundations for a study of representation and (im)possibility results for abstract argumentation, and for a principle-based approach for extended argumentation such as bipolar frameworks, preference-based frameworks, abstract dialectical frameworks, weighted frameworks, and input/output frameworks.