How It Works

Understanding complex debates in three simple steps

Step 1: Explore Argument Maps

Navigate visual networks of interconnected arguments from diverse sources to discover different perspectives on complex topics.

Step 2: Follow Relationship Connections

Trace how arguments support, attack, or cite each other to understand the logical structure of debates. Examine argument sources through clickable links and author metadata to evaluate credibility.

Step 3: Evaluate Arguments and Form Your View

Notice how accepting or rejecting one argument logically affects other connected arguments, helping you locate your position within the broader landscape of ideas across history and cultures.

Who We Are

Controvis is a free site created by Dr. Thomas C. King, to map and understand complex debates. We are building a community seeking to document and understand interesting human disagreements—facing head-on the fascinating but complex landscape of controversial topics across history and cultures.

What We Do

We are building an atlas of interesting argument maps that show how positions connect and clash. Our collaborative approach preserves nuance and clarifies complex debates. Everyone is welcome to join this collective effort to build an open atlas of human disagreement.

Who We're For

Citizens navigating polarizing topics, educators, researchers, and anyone seeking to understand their own and others' positions in disagreements beyond their echo chamber.

Explore Argument Maps

Dive into complex topics through our interactive argument maps

View Map

Euthanasia Healthcare Legislation Ethics

Euthanasia Debate—Terminally Ill Patient's Right to Assisted Death—United Kingdom

Context & Scope

The UK parliamentary debate around the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill—this is a small argument map, with source material only comprising Kim Leadbeater MP's opening speech and interventions. Future work: additional parliamentarian speeches, and journalistic articles.

Main Claim

The United Kingdom should allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life. Specifically, to allow adults aged 18 and over, who have mental capacity, are terminally ill, and are in the final six months of their life, to request assistance from a medical doctor to end their lives.

More Maps Coming Soon

History Science Ethics Religion Legislation ...

Community-Driven Argument Maps

Future maps will cover a diverse range of topics chosen by our community.

A Note from Thomas, Creator of Controvis

As the creator of Controvis, I see this as a community project that we'll build together. I'm Thomas C. King, and I hold a PhD in formal logic with over 10 years of experience as a software engineer in industry and academia. Throughout my academic career, I've published papers in top AI conferences and prestigious journals, with my work accumulating around 1,000 citations. One of my papers was referenced in a UK House of Lords report. I've given numerous talks on the subjects of AI, ethics and argumentation, and completed postdoctoral research at Lancaster University and Oxford University.

During my postdoc at Oxford, I researched the intersection of AI and society, where I encountered increasingly polarized views on technology's impact. These experiences—my PhD work in formal logic and my Oxford research on society—have come together to influence this initiative.

I observed that while powerful theoretical tools existed for mapping complex disagreements, what was missing was accessible content and a way to share these maps widely. In a world where debates often become echo chambers of like-minded opinions, this gap seemed particularly important to address collectively. This insight inspired Controvis—an open atlas of human disagreement designed for all of us to understand perspectives beyond our own bubbles and navigate polarizing topics with greater clarity and nuance.

I'm excited to develop this platform together with a community of curious minds. If you're interested in contributing, have ideas to share, or simply want to discuss the project, please connect with me on LinkedIn or send us an email at [email protected]—I'd love to hear from you!

Future Roadmap

We are community-driven, so our plans depend on what the community needs. Here's what we're planning to build next

Community Editing BETA

Open contribution where anyone can edit argument maps.

Our beta version allows contributors to add new arguments, tag content with relevant categories, and create connections showing support or attack relationships between positions.

Join our waitlist to get early access to the community editing tools and help shape the future of collaborative argument mapping.

EARLY ACCESS

Search

Find semantically similar arguments and argument maps.

Historical Filtering

Historical snapshots of argument maps

Cultural Filtering

Geographic and social context filters for arguments across cultures

User Position Analysis

Compute which arguments are logically acceptable given selected argument stances

Opinion Analytics

Anonymous data on user opinions around arguments

Expert Curation

Argument maps organized and verified by subject matter experts

Source Analysis

Cross-referencing of arguments across multiple sources to uncover shared ideological positions

Controvis helps you make sense of polarizing topics