REASONING BY ANALOGY

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.

What do you practice? Forgiveness or revenge?

An “appeal to spite” is another appeal to emotion when communicating and/or persuading others. Basically, it is getting revenge, getting even, or getting back at someone for doing you wrong. In Epstein, p. 193, it states that this is usually rejected “as bad by some people on moral grounds.” However, “In some cultures…it’s not only acceptable, but a moral imperative…to preserve one’s ‘honor.’” So some people find it bad and others find it a necessary defense reaction.

Also, an “appeal to spite” often invokes the "two wrongs MAKE a right" principle.
When I was growing up, I was taught the total opposite, that two wrongs DON’T make a right! And I try to live by that rule. However, as the book states, an “appeal to spite” is when a person does something bad or mean to you and you respond with doing something bad or mean to them. This is another emotion people use in the art of communication. In other words, it is used to persuade someone to do something based on revenge.

It’s not good in my book! But, you can make your choice and suffer the consequences. Hmmm…..was that just an appeal to fear statement I just made? We’ll leave that for another post! :o)