Judging Analogies

One of the concepts that we have not discussed is judging analogies. In order to judge analogies we have to make sure that the comparisons of both arguments share some similarities so we could find one general meaning from both sides.  In order to evaluate an analogy Epstein  explains that we must first check if it is in fact an argument and if there is a conclusion. After that we have to check if there is a comparison. Then we have determine what the premises is from both sides of the comparison. We also have to see if there is any similarities. After finding the similarities we have to check if they can be premises. There also needs to be a general principle that covers both sides of the argument. After that we must determine if the general principle really applies to both sides and see if the differences matter. Lastly we must see if the argument is strong or valid and to make sure if it's good.