PRAGMATIC LOGIC AND THE STUDY OF ARGUMENTATION

The main achievements of the Lvov-Warsaw School (LWS) are associated by argumentation theorists mostly with the developments of mathematical logic. However, in the LWS there was carried on also research which may be particularly inspiring for the study of argumentation: systematic investigation of applying language and methods of logic in order to develop knowledge and skills which constitute the so-called logical culture. The discipline which aimed at developing these skills was called pragmatic logic; this is also the title of Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz's book of 1965. The aim of this paper is to show that the pragmatic approach to reasoning and argumentation constituted the core concern of the LWS as early as in the first half of the 20th century. This aim is realized by discussing the subject-matter, goals and methods of pragmatic logic. I argue that (1) some crucial assumptions of pragmatic logic harmonize with those accepted in argumentation theory, (2) pragmatic logic is a legitimate tool in the study of argumentation.