Biased communication, the cognitive pragmatics of fallacies

In this project, we approach the interpretative processes triggered by fallacious arguments and their persuasive and manipulative efficiency, from the theoretical vantage point of pragmatics which considers human communication as a cognitively driven activity which tries to maximise the output of the interpretative process and simultaneously minimise the amount of resources summoned during this same process. In brief, the current project looks at how, through fallacies, persuasive and manipulative discourse exploits cognitive biases which hinder this interpretative process and yield sub-optimal, or even irrational, outcomes.