Communication · Executive Insight Brief · 356
Ending the meeting does not resolve the argument
Pragma-dialectics treats argument as a regulated critical discussion in which standpoints, burdens, starting points, and conclusions remain accountable to the purpose of resolving disagreement
Premise
A disagreement can end without being resolved. Authority can silence dissent, a vote can terminate debate, and compromise can close a meeting while leaving the reasons untouched. Pragma-dialectics separates those outcomes from resolution: a standpoint counts as resolved only when it has been exposed to criticism under conditions that allow the parties to test whether it should be accepted, modified, or withdrawn.
For senior teams, the diagnostic question is whether the discussion made the disagreement testable: who defended what, from which shared starting points, under which burden, and with what acknowledged conclusion.
What the model is: Pragma-Dialectics in Knowledge →
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- CategoryAnalytical Frameworks, Typologies & Heuristics
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What these mean
Editorial orientation · Family
Model
In this series, Model names the editorial family primarily used to understand and explain communication: theories, frameworks, effects, traditions, principles and other conceptual resources. It is an umbrella for a route into the field, not a claim that every included object is a predictive model.
Editorial orientation · Category
Analytical Frameworks, Typologies & Heuristics
Organizes dimensions, distinctions, types or questions so that a situation can be examined systematically. A framework supplies structure, a typology distinguishes forms, and a heuristic offers a usable way to orient judgment.
- KnowledgePragma-Dialectics