Analogical arguments in persuasive and deliberative contexts

Abstract

This paper uses argumentation tools such as argument diagrams and argumentation schemes to analyze three examples of argument from analogy and argues that to evaluate these arguments adequately, it is necessary to take the context of use into account. The evidence drawn from the examples suggests that studying argument from analogy only by identifying the logical form of the argument (for example by building an argument diagram containing the premises and conclusion) is not adequate. To get further, we argue, the argument analyst needs to take into account how a particular argument was used in context to support a conversational goal.