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Analogy

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.

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Analogy

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  1. Analogy Reasoning by comparison

  2. 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 don’t believe in Jesus any more than I believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, or the Tooth Fairy.”

  3. 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.

  4. 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

  5. Political cartoons often rely on visual analogies

  6. 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: • Stewart’s 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.

  7. 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 à la Hitler and concentration camps à 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

  8. 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 Kobe’s situation analogous to M.L. King’s? 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)

  9. 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?”

  10. The overworked “Hitler” analogy • Must we always equate everyone bad to Hitler? • George W. Bush compared Democrats who opposed his terrorist-surveillance program to those who ignored the rise of Hitler and Lenin. • MoveOn.org visually compared Bush to Hitler • Donald Rumsfeld compared Hugo Chavez to Hitler. • Think twice before playing the Hitler card. • Adolph Hitler brought incalculable suffering to millions of people • Is Hitler the only historical analogy Americans understand? • Hitler analogies tend to stifle debate, pre-empt rational thought.

  11. literal versus figurative analogies • Literal analogies compare things that are within the same class, whereas figurative analogies entail comparisons from different classes • literal: prohibition didn’t work with alcohol and it won’t work with marijuana either • literal: Barry Bonds is the Roger Maris of the 1990’s. • literal: The bible is to Christianity what the Qur’an is to Islam • figurative: John McCain’s “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 Lewinsky’s dress was the “smoking gun” in the White House sex scandal.

  12. Analogies about life • “Life is like a box of chocolates…” (Forrest Gump) • “Life is a sport. Drink it up” (Gatorade) • “It’s 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 it’s good, it’s really really good, and when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good!”

  13. Politics as Sports analogies • “She hit that one out of the park.” • “This is only the first round of the playoffs.” • “They’re 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.” • “He’s got the ball, now he’s got to run with it.” • “That was a big time fumble.”

  14. 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 Smith’s “invisible hand” Comparing the target of a scandal to Humpty Dumpty

  15. More applications of analogies • In history: likening France’ refusal to vote for an invasion of Iraq as analogous to Neville Chamberlain’s 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

  16. Barack Obama is the John F. Kennedy of the 21st century “Barack Obama…has 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 Rees-Mogg, 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 was…Bill Clinton's presidency.” Literal versus figurative analogy

  17. Literal analogy • Comparing TV’s rating system with the movie rating system

  18. 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.

  19. The “balloon” analogy of the universe

  20. 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 Black’s civil rights analogous to laws restricting gay’s rights the former target a person’s race, the latter target a person’s 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? tests of analogies

  21. 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

  22. 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

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