Explain why the "Four Tests of the Acceptability of an Argument" are difficult to apply when evaluating comparative inferences
What will be an ideal response
The first test, the premises true, is difficult because unfortunately, the words true and
false are not optimal for evaluating a sentence that asserts a comparison. Those two terms offer us only two options when, in fact, our evaluations are more nuanced. Words like apt, insightful, vivid, silly, and superficial are better words for evaluating sentences that assert comparisons. The second test, logical strength, challenges us to try to find counterexamples. This test does help evaluate the logical strength of the comparison, but only to a limited extent. We do not have refined statistical tests to apply to comparative inferences. But we can categorize comparisons as more or less plausible. Comparative reasoning almost always includes points of dissimilarity as well as points of similarity. We will need to make a more refined judgment about the utility of the points of comparison than simply whether we can think of a counterexample. The test of relevance also applies because the burden is on the maker of the analogy to show that the comparison is relevant. Again, "relevance" alone is not enough. What we need to find for a comparative inference to be successful is that the relevance is structural, fundamental, and essential, not superficial. The fourth test demands that the truth of any premise not depend on the truth of the conclusion. But if the supposedly "more familiar" object is actually not familiar to the listener, or not as familiar to the listener as the "less familiar" object, then the analogy backfires. And familiarity is a relative matter; it varies depending on the knowledge of the listener. This makes the test of non-circularity difficult to apply.
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