On the problem of bias in political argumentation: An investigation into discussions about political asylum in Germany and Austria

Abstract

This paper attempts to combine descriptive and normative approaches to the study of argumantation. Starting from the insights of ancient rhetoric and dialectic (Aristotle, Cicero), New Rhetoric (Pereiman and Olbrechts-Tyteca), the Pragma-Dialectic framework (Van Eemeren and Grootendorst) and the theory of fallacies developed by Woods and Walton, bias is defined as a lack of appropriate balance and critical doubt relative to a specific kind of argumentative discourse. More particularly, two main kinds of bias are distinguishable: global and local bias. The former consists in a neglection of global dimensions of the issue in question; the latter results from an incoraplete and/or incorrect application of argument schemes.

Bridging the gap: Interdisciplinary insights into the securitization of poverty

“…The conditional by which the topos of humanitarianism can be paraphrased is that if a political action or decision conforms to humanitarian values or human rights, such an action or decision should be performed or made. See, for example, Kienpointner and Kindt (1997) and Wodak (2001) for analyses of lists of topoi. He is currently co-editing a book on the contemporary Anglo-American special relationship (Routledge) and his latest funded research project focuses on the role and impact of summitry within Anglo-American relations.…”

“…The conditional by which the topos of humanitarianism can be paraphrased is that if a political action or decision conforms to humanitarian values or human rights, such an action or decision should be performed or made. See, for example, Kienpointner and Kindt (1997) and Wodak (2001) for analyses of lists of topoi.…”

From bias to opinion

“…Bias has been extensively studied by sociologists as a characteristic of people or entities that exhibit one or more of the following characteristics [29]: (i) a lack of proper balance and neutrality in argumentation, (ii) a lack of proper critical doubt, (iii) a particular position of the arguer regarding a subject, and (iv) a personal interest from the arguer in the outcome of the argument or discussion. We can find bias in almost any scenario where opinions are expressed, and one of the most common types of bias is political or ideological bias [15], In news media, selection bias guides decisions regarding of events are covered, while description bias is related to the veracity of the media coverage [7]. Given the subjective nature of bias, one key question here involves measuring bias.…”

“…Lift is a standard metric of interest in association rule mining that captures how surprising a relationship among two items is, by comparing the frequency of their co-occurrence to the expected frequency of their co-occurrence, assuming that they are independent from one another [27]. Notice that the use of lift is compatible with the sociological definition of bias, which indicates biased behavior when someone supports one side or someone too strongly or too often [15].…”

“…Technically, we say that opinion holders exhibit a varying degree of bias. Social theories argue that bias is an inherent feature of human behavior, which is characterized by a lack of appropriate balance, neutrality and critical doubt in argumentation [29]; one of the most clear manifestations of bias is when someone supports one side too strongly or too often [15].…”