This thesis aims to discuss some of the relationships between rationality and argumentative practices characteristic of Brazilian higher education, especially in the context of graduate studies. For this purpose, the investigation of the theories of the German philosopher Jurgen Habermas is crucial, especially his analysis of the rules of discourse. These rules were considered in this work as the guiding elements of communicative and discursive rationality. A central focus of the thesis is to discuss issues related to the implementation of Habermas s ideas. For this purpose, it became necessary to investigate the concept of systematically distorted communication and articulate other observations from different theoretical perspectives: the theory of prototypes in cognitive psychology; the notion of stereotypes in social psychology; the concept of schemas in Piaget s genetic psychology; and the hermeneutic circle in hermeneutics. The thesis concludes with general reflections on argumentation intended to clarify the implications of this study for educational processes in higher education.