Rigotti, Eddo Greco Morasso, Sara 2009-03-27 This work investigates how argumentation, namely the communicative exchange aimed at founding ones position in a reasonable fashion, is an essential condition for the fulfilment of the pragmatic goals of mediation, conceived of as a conflict resolution practice. In mediation, the parties are competent and responsible for the decision on the conflict, while the mediator helps them assume an argumentative attitude. As it emerges from the results of this work, in a successful mediation process, two conflicting individuals, entrenched in an escalating spiral of hostility, become co-arguers, able to tackle their differences of opinion by means of reasonable discussion. After having outlined an ontological framework of mediation, considering all relevant factors and their relations in the context of the mediation script from its origin (conflict) to its short-term and long-term outcomes, this dissertation focuses on how the argumentative discussion is constructed and how the disputants change of attitude into co-arguers is realized. application/pdf https://n2t.net/ark:/12658/srd1318363 https://susi.usi.ch/global/documents/318363 https://susi.usi.ch/documents/318363/files/2009COM003.pdf eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/urn/urn:nbn:ch:rero-006-110648 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/ark/12658/srd1318363 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess License undefined Mediation conflict resolution argumentation critical discussion confrontation stage analytical reconstruction argument schemes topics, interest habit change info:eu-repo/classification/udc/65 Argumentative and other communicative strategies of the mediation practice http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06