Reasoning by analogy is using a comparison as part of an argument. One side of the comparison is the conclusion and the "other side should conclude the same." However, not every comparison is an argument.
Epstein uses the example, “My love is like a red, red rose.” This is a comparison only because no conclusion is drawn. This would normally be called an analogy. However, analogies are “often only suggestions for arguments,” that must be taken “seriously” because they are used in “science, law, and ethics.”
To tell if an analogy is good we must pick out important similarities that can be used as premises. We need to ask the question “So?” so we can decide whether or not an analogy is good. Some similarities do not apply or matter, while others are vague and therefore, we cannot use them. We need to come up with some principle that applies to both sides. We need to ask questions like, “Are all premises true?” “Is the argument good?” Next, we have to look for the differences to see if there is any reason the "general principle" may not apply to one of the sides.
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