Value-based argumentation and the transition to a low carbon economy in Turkey and Portugal: Values, arguments and actions

The thesis undertakes to explore the role of values in argumentation and practical reasoning. It follows an analysis of 48 interviews conducted in two European countries- Turkey and Portugal that sought to investigate the reasons for or against actions of key industrial actors in the transition to a low-carbon economy. By studying preferences of industrial actors in the transition towards a low-carbon economy in Turkey and Portugal, two countries at the periphery of Europe but with a vibrant debate on the climate, the thesis will provide policy makers with empirical and theoretical grounds for action by understanding why actors choose to do what they do. The preferences are reasons for action. In this thesis, these reasons for action are derived from the argumentative discourse and it is suggested that it is one of the key functions of argumentation. The actors through their speech acts provide us with clues about their beliefs, attitudes, and choices. The thesis employs a value-based argumentation framework to analyze and evaluate the choices and to discover the underlying, sometimes implicit phenomena that guide them.