Hurdle to Free Argumentation

Argumentation sounds like a very negative word. I don't know how many times I would have heard the phrases "don't argue with me", "let's not argue on this", "you are very argumentative" and almost always (I certainly do not remember even one case to the contrary but I don't claim to know everything either!) these phrases are said to give out negative meanings. So just as I started to write this post and titled it "Hurdle to Free Arugmentation", I wanted to make sure whether the dictionaries out there agree with me or argumentation has in fact a definitive negative import, while I assumed it to be a positive word suffering with unwarranted notoriety.

Here is what I found from the two sources I normally refer to on the Internet:

www.m-w.com defines argumentation as:

1. the act or process of forming reasons and of drawing conclusions and applying them to a case in discussion
2. DEBATE, DISCUSSION
   

www.dictonary.com defines it as:

1. the process of developing or presenting an argument; reasoning.
2. discussion; debate; disputation: The lengthy argumentation tired many listeners.
3. a discussion dealing with a controversial point.
4. the setting forth of reasons together with the conclusion drawn from them.
5. the premises and conclusion so set forth.
6. argument (def. 5).
   

As anyone knowing basic english could see, the above definitions do not seem to give the word any negative tone even though dictionary.com does give an example with a slight negative tinge.
And the reason why I am discussing this simple word so much is precisely the same - people see argumentation as something negative. Instead of seeing argumentation as a "process of forming reasons and of drawing conclusions and applying them to a case in discussion", they see it as something that might lead them to change their stance. And this is what people do not want to do. Most people tend to know what they know and do not want to know something that changes what they "know" (if you know what I mean!).

Changing their views on something or rethinking what they know brings people out of their "comfort zone" (MBA-speak, but it does seem to fit here) and this is something which they do not want to do without resistance. And when prompted to do so, you again get to hear those fabled phrases I mentioned above or a careful distortion of their stance making it difficult for the argument to go ahead.

Well, I know I have rattled a lot - or beaten around the bush - whatever you prefer to call it but the main point I want to make is that arguing is not bad, it is good. So feel free to argue and if you do, do it with an open mind. That is, do not be afraid to find out you changed your stance. In fact, I would rate an argument to be great if I went into it with some stance and came out with a totally different one. Just reading a related post that I wrote sometime earlier, "Laws of Argumentation", I find that I summarized this thought in the very first "law". Seems like I have a habit of repeating myself or I have run out of things to say. So, I will just finish with the following piece of dialogue:

"Do you believe in the existence of UFOs?" Pat came the reply: "I believe in the existence of extra-terrerstrial intelligent life". End-of-discussion, or rather ... argumentation!