From the cover of his first book, Robert Alexy has been using the terms discourse and argumentation synonymously. Despite this pattern of usage, he (Alexy, 1989, p. 180) favors the word discourse, as he names his theory of argumentation a theory of discourse. Alexy (1989, p. 180) further classifies his theory as normative because it does not aim to describe the rules of argumentation actually employed by specific individuals, but rather to prescribe the rules that make discourses rational.

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