Understanding the Abstract Dialectical Framework (Preliminary Report)

TL;DR

This paper explores the abstract dialectical frameworks (ADFs), their relation to other argumentation models, and introduces translations to enhance understanding and application in computational argumentation.

Contribution

It introduces translations from various argumentation formalisms into ADFs, demonstrating their versatility and capacity to model diverse frameworks.

Findings

ADFs can model many existing argumentation frameworks

Translations reveal similarities and differences among frameworks

Software support for ADFs can be leveraged for other formalisms

Abstract

Among the most general structures extending the framework by Dung are the abstract dialectical frameworks (ADFs). They come equipped with various types of semantics, with the most prominent - the labeling-based one - analyzed in the context of computational complexity, signatures, instantiations and software support. This makes the abstract dialectical frameworks valuable tools for argumentation. However, there are fewer results available concerning the relation between the ADFs and other argumentation frameworks. In this paper we would like to address this issue by introducing a number of translations from various formalisms into ADFs. The results of our study show the similarities and differences between them, thus promoting the use and understanding of ADFs. Moreover, our analysis also proves their capability to model many of the existing frameworks, including those that go beyond the attack relation. Finally, translations allow other structures to benefit from the research on ADFs in general and from the existing software in particular.