Reasoning by Analogy

Not sure if I found this the most difficult to understand, but reasoning by analogy is something that I think many people do incorrectly. The basic concept of this type of reasoning is, “Since it was O.K. there, it should be O.K. here. This situation is like that one. Since we concluded here, we can conclude there. That’s arguing by analogy.” (p. 253)

I found a website that explains the variations and usage parameters in a very clear and methodical way. One of the things I enjoyed about it was the use of a chart. Sometimes word problems are not as clear, but the chart allows for easy comparison, and from that we can argue by analogy. The site says, “Comparing oranges with bananas, we find once again that these two fruits are similar in only two of the categories that we examined (i.e., they are both peelable without the aid of a knife and they both have inedible skin). Finally, comparing apples to bananas reveals only one similar characteristic between these two fruits: neither belongs to the "citrus" family.”


http://www4.samford.edu/schools/netlaw/dh2/logic/analogy.htm