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Prospects for Analogue Confirmation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2022

Paul Bartha
Paul Bartha*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Department of Philosophy, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
*
Email: paul.bartha@ubc.ca
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Abstract

In analogical reasoning, observations about one or more source domains provide varying degrees of support for a conjecture about a target domain. Norton (2021) challenges the usefulness of formal models of analogical inference. Other philosophers (Dardashti et al. 2019) develop just such formal models in order to show how analogue experiments can confirm a hypothesis, even when the target domain is inaccessible. This paper defends the value of quasi-formal models of analogical reasoning. Such models are broadly compatible with Norton’s position, but help to clarify the structure of analogical reasoning and to identify basic requirements for a good analogical inference.

Type
Symposia Paper
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 89 , Issue 5 , December 2022 , pp. 928 - 938
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Philosophy of Science Association

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