How can inductive reasoning be applied to reasoning by analogy? What problems can arise?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Inductive reasoning may be applied to a broader range of situations than those requiring causal or categorical inferences. For example, inductive reasoning may be applied to reasoning by analogy. An application of analogies in reasoning can be seen in politics. Analogies can help governing bodies come to conclusions. These analogies also can be used effectively to convey the justification of the decision to the public. However, the use of analogies is not always successful. This highlights both the utility and possible pitfalls of using analogies in political deliberation. In 2010, opponents of the war in Afghanistan drew an analogy to Vietnam to argue for withdrawing from Afghanistan. They asserted that the failure of U.S. policies to lead to a conclusive victory were analogous between Vietnam and Afghanistan. Some members of government then turned the tables, using an analogy to Vietnam to argue that withdrawal from Afghanistan could lead to mass slaughter, as they asserted happened in Vietnam after the Americans left. Thus, analogies can end up being made largely in the eye of the beholder rather than supporting the actual elements being compared. Analogies are used in everyday life as we make predictions about our environment. We connect our perceptions with our memories by means of analogies. The analogies then activate concepts and items stored in our mind that are similar to the current input. Through this activation, we can make a prediction of what is likely in a given situation. For example, predictions about global warming are being guided in part by people drawing analogies to times in the past when people believed either that the atmosphere warmed up or did not. Whether a given individual believes in global warming depends in part upon what analogy or analogies the individual decides to draw.