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A Pragmatic Framework for the Evaluation of Policy Arguments
Author(s) -
Ball William J.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
review of policy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1541-1338
pISSN - 1541-132X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-1338.1995.tb00619.x
Subject(s) - normative , argument (complex analysis) , statement (logic) , policy analysis , value (mathematics) , epistemology , simple (philosophy) , positive economics , law and economics , political science , management science , sociology , economics , computer science , public administration , philosophy , biochemistry , machine learning , chemistry
A policy argument is an oral or written statement that advocates adopting a policy or justifies the decision to adopt a policy. This article advances the study of policy arguments by establishing a simple and general framework for their evaluation that is inspired by pragmatic philosophy. A pragmatic framework recognizes that all policy arguments are normative in purpose and that a good policy argument supports its normative claim with factual and value‐based “good reasons.” Establishing an argument's claim mediates these supporting reasons. A pragmatic approach delineates the nature and purpose of policy arguments more clearly than has been done in the past, providing a more suitable framework for study.