Genaro Carrio: Cómo argumentar razonablemente un caso

Abstract

This article originates in the pedagogical work in seminars and courses of Logic, Argument, Law, and Philosophy of Law. Basically, its purpose is pedagogical: to contribute to the development of argumentative competence, and the ability to critically analyze legal argument. Although it deals with obvious and fundamental aspects of legal argument, well-known to legal experts and professionals in law, it offers suggestions and key explanations about how to prepare a claim, presented in a brief and straightforward way, so that interested parties may have access to them, discuss them, and adapt them to their necessities and interests. Its main topic is the argument in natural language, and the question is: How is a case argued in court? The central thesis is: Legal argument implies a reasonable or practical dimension which does not come down to purely rational argument or formal logic. To argue reasonably implies more than simply observing a logical structure of reasoning. Arguing presupposes the observation of practical conditions that make possible an intelligible and successful argument.