Legal methodsLesson 1 of 2 in the course Legal reasoning

Analogical Reasoning: Structure, Evaluation, and Legal Use

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

An analogy is a comparison or correspondence between two things, or two groups of things, based on an element they are considered to share. The comparison does not claim that the things are identical. Instead, it highlights a relevant similarity or relationship.

A common form is A is to B as C is to D. For example, smile is to mouth as wink is to eye: a smile is an expression made with the mouth, while a wink is an expression made with the eye.

All flashcards

Analogy
A comparison that transfers a relevant relationship, pattern, or information between subjects.
Source and target
The source supplies familiar information; the target is the subject being understood through it.
Identity of relation
A correspondence between the relationships in two pairs, even when their objects differ.
Structure mapping
Aligning objects and relationships in a source domain with corresponding elements in a target domain.
Analogy in legal reasoning
Comparing a new legal situation with an authority based on features relevant to the legal issue.

Quiz questions

  1. In legal reasoning, what makes a similarity between two cases a sound basis for analogy?Answer: It relates to the legal rationale governing the issue.
  2. In the common law tradition, legal analogy is commonly used to do what?Answer: Extend the guidance of precedent to a new case.
  3. What does the systematicity principle describe in analogical reasoning?Answer: A preference for mapping connected systems of relationships.
  4. How do scientists commonly use analogy when developing a model?Answer: As a heuristic for generating ideas that can be tested.
  5. Why can a computer's answer to a word-pair analogy be misleading?Answer: It may match superficial similarities without preserving the relevant relationships.

Based on the Wikipedia article Analogy, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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