Although people view argumentation as a contest between parties trying to achieve a victory, that view is incorrect, says Steven Patterson.

A visiting research fellow at the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation, and Rhetoric, he will explore the cooperative nature of argumentation, even in adversarial contexts, in a free public lecture, “Cooperative Intentions in Argumentation,” on Friday, April 5, at 2 p.m. in room 207, Essex Hall.

Patterson will draw on Michael Bratman’s theory of cooperative intention as well as previous work of his own on the function of argumentation.