Analogy

Reasoning by
comparison

Argument by Analogy

Analogies are based on similarity,

comparison, or precedent.

The inference being made is that two

things which resemble each other in
certain known respects will resemble each
other in unknown respects.

example: Many who oppose abortion compare it

to the Holocaust, when millions of Jews were
exterminated by the Nazis.

example: An atheist says, I dont believe in

Jesus any more than I believe in the Easter
Bunny, Santa Clause, or the Tooth Fairy.

Some sample analogies

Plato compared the

world we perceive to
shadows on a cave wall.
Comparing human
consciousness to a
flame on a candle
Comparing scientists
involved in cloning
research to Dr.
Frankenstein.

Recent arguments using analogy

Comparing Barack Obama to John F.

Kennedy
Comparing Sarah Palin with Dan Quayle
Hillary Clinton compared herself to Rocky
Comparing marijuana laws with the
prohibition era
Comparing the war in Iraq with the war in
Viet Nam
Comparing Osamu Bin Laden, Saddam
Hussein, and Kim Jong il.

Political cartoons often rely on

visual analogies

Is Martha Stewart a modern day

Nelson Mandela?

After being sentenced to five months in prison

and two years' probation, Martha Stewart
invoked the name of Nelson Mandela, South
Africa's anti-apartheid hero, saying there are
many, many good people who have gone to
prison.
But there is a difference:

Stewarts crime was for personal gain. She was

convicted of lying to investigators about insider
trading.
Mandela was a political prisoner. He was jailed
for 27 years for opposing racial apartheid in
South Africa.

The holocaust and factory farming?

[A]s long as human beings will

go on shedding the blood of
animals, there will never be any
peace. There is only one little
step from killing animals to
creating gas chambers la Hitler
and concentration camps la
Stalin. There will be no justice
as long as man will stand with a
knife or with a gun and destroy
those who are weaker than he
is.
Isaac Bashevis Singer

Kobe Bryant and Martin Luther

King?

When Kobe Bryant accepted an award

for favorite male athlete at the Teen
Choice Awards in Los Angeles, he
invoked the words of Martin Luther King
that, an injustice anywhere threatens
justice everywhere.
Is Kobes situation analogous to M.L.
Kings? Is a rape allegation analogous to
a civil rights issue?
(Note: King actually wrote Injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice everywhere in his Letter
from a Birmingham Jail)

An analogy from the movie

Clueless
So, OK, like right now, for example, the Haitians need
to come to America. But some people are all What
about the strain on our resources? But it's like, when I
had this garden party for my father's birthday right? But
people came that like, did not R.S.V.P., so I had to haul
ass to the kitchen, squish in extra place settings, but it
was like, the more the merrier! And so, if the
government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange
some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians.
And in conclusion, may I please remind you that it does
not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty?

Analogies about life

Life is like a box of chocolates (Forrest

Gump)
Life is a sport. Drink it up (Gatorade)
Its a jungle out there.
Life is a rat race.
Life is a bitch and then you die.
Getting married is like hitching two oxen to
the same yoke.
Being a student is like being a sponge. The
less you know the more you can soak up.
Employees are like nails. You have to hit
them on the head to get them to work.
Sex is like beer. When its good, its really
really good, and when its bad, its still pretty
good!

Politics as Sports analogies

She hit that one out of the park.

This is only the first round of the playoffs.
Theyre not pulling any punches.
That was like hitting a jumper at the
buzzer.
He should probably punt.
He gave a great half-time speech.
This is only round __ of a __round fight.
Hes got the ball, now hes got to run with
it.
That was a big time fumble.

applications of analogies

in politics: comparing the

Clinton-Lewinsky scandal to
Watergate
in law: case precedent or
stare decisis, statutory rape
laws as sexist
In economics: viewing
economic competition as the
survival of the fittest, Adam
Smiths invisible hand

Comparing the target of

a scandal to Humpty
Dumpty

More applications of analogies

In history: likening France refusal to vote

for an invasion of Iraq as analogous to
Neville Chamberlains appeasement of
Hitler leading up to World War II.
in science and medicine: likening the
human brain to a computer, HIV to an
invading army, the human heart to an
electric pump, DNA molecule is like a
ladder
in religion: the body as a temple of the
holy spirit, the tree of knowledge, Jesus as
a shepherd

literal versus figurative analogies

Literal analogies compare things that are

within the same class, whereas figurative
analogies entail comparisons from different
classes

literal: prohibition didnt work with alcohol and it

wont work with marijuana either
literal: Barry Bonds is the Roger Maris of the
1990s.
literal: The bible is to Christianity what the Quran is
to Islam
figurative: John McCains reform mantra is like
putting lipstick on a pig.
figurative: gangs as a cancer on society
figurative: teen rage as a ticking time-bomb
figurative: the stain on Monica Lewinskys dress
was the smoking gun in the White House sex
scandal.

Literal versus figurative analogy

Barack Obama is the

John F. Kennedy of the
21st century
Barack Obamahas built
up an excitement such as
no candidate has created
since President Kennedy
in 1960... Like Kennedy,
he combines personal
magnetism with a strong
appeal to American
idealism. (William ReesMogg, Feb 2008, London
Times)

Barack is a Mac, Hillary

is a PC.
Obama, like the Mac,
seems almost too good
to be true. He's young,
hip, inspiring. As the
hipster in the Mac
commercial loves to
point out, a PC isn't
actually all that reliable:
reboot, reboot. We all
experienced the
rollercoaster ride that
wasBill Clinton's
presidency.

Literal analogy

Comparing TVs rating

system with the movie
rating system

figurative computer analogy

A computer

is
analogous to a
toilet?

Figurative analogy

Comparing Christians
to potatoes in a stew
potatoes absorb the
flavor of whatever they
are cooked with. In like
manner, Christians are
inundated daily with all
kinds of sin.

The balloon analogy of the

universe

tests of analogies

Are the two things being compared similar

in their essential, relevant respects?

example: Iran and North Korea

Both want to be nuclear powers, but

Iran is an oil rich nation, while N.

Korea is poor

Surface features: superficial

resemblances between two things, such
as size, color, appearance

Structural features: similarities in

underlying characteristics

example: comparing spam with

junk mail.
surface similarly: both may be
annoying, unwanted
structural difference: mass
postal mailings still have to pay
postage. Spam costs nothing to
send.

Are important dissimilarities being

ignored or overlooked?

example: comparing racism and

homophobia: Were laws restricting
Blacks civil rights analogous to
laws restricting gays rights

the former target a persons race,

the latter target a persons behavior
Have enough points of similarity
been drawn?
Are there more dissimilarities than
similarities?

MPAA analogy of stealing a car or

purse to downloading a movie
Are any points of difference non-critical
to the analogy?

MPAA anti-piracy warning

Structural problems
with the analogy

Intellectual property law is

not the same as regular
property law
File sharing is not the
same thing as stealing.
Libraries loan out books
for free.
Is the crime in uploading
or downloading?
The punishment should fit
the crime

Examples of tests of analogies

Example: compensation for Japanese who were

interned during WWII versus reparations for
African Americans who ancestors were slaves
Example: comparing the government to the
private sector (e.g., the DMV, post-office, public
schools, etc. with private enterprise)
Example: comparing scientific accomplishments
(putting a man on the moon) to solutions to
social problems