December Deductions 2020; Day 28

 Alright, today we're going to cover how to properly handle an argument by analogy, and the basic test on whether or not it'd good. 

Arguments by Analogy. 

An argument by analogy generally uses the following basic form: Thing A and thing B are similar in that they both have properties W, X, and Y. Thing A has property Z, so it is reasonable think that thing B also has property Z. As an example, all Call of Duty games to date have been first person shooters. Since the next Call of Duty game will be made by the same company for the same fans and under the same series name, it's reasonable to believe that it will also be a first person shooter. 

There are two things you need to look at when testing an argument by analogy. The first is that the form makes sense, specifically that the two things are similar in a meaningful way. For instance, if I were trying to make an argument by analogy about Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, they are similar in a lot of important ways: they're both Olympic athletes, they're both gold-medal winners, and they're both well known public figures. The second thing to look at is whether or not they have any significant differences that affect the conclusion. If, for instance, I said that Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are Olympic gold medalists so they can probably run the same speed, you could point out that Usain Bolt's gold medals are in running, while Michael Phelps' gold medals are in swimming, so Usain Bolt probably runs significantly faster than Michael Phelps. 

Use that test when assessing any argument that's trying to make a point by comparing two things. If, for instance, people claim that belief in the conspiracy that lizard people run the government is reasonable because the Watergate scandal was a conspiracy theory until it was proven, you can point out that the Watergate scandal has proof associated with it, and that it took relatively few people to pull off, while lizard people running the government would take thousands of people who are in the know to just not talk about it. Sure, they're both conspiracies, but one is significantly more reasonable than the other. 

I hope this one comes in handy for you all. As I've said before if you're following along I'll "see" you in the next post, and otherwise have a great day. Goodbye!