ABSTRACT
IT is particularly difficult to begin a discussion of empirical research in argumentation without the obligatory statement about the general paucity, pallor, and paleolithic nature of that research. A quick review of the table of contents of the one journal devoted to scholarship in argumentation leaves little doubt as to the quantity (or lack thereof) of empirical research in the field. 1 Fortunately, recent conceptual developments in argumentation theory offer greater freedom to draw on and apply research from diverse areas. Moreover, a recent resurgence of efforts to define argumentation has given rise to issues that clamor for empirical investigation.
