Definition: Many arguments rely on an analogy between two or more objects, ideas, or situations. If the two things that are being compared aren’t really alike in the relevant respects, the analogy is a weak one, and the argument that relies on it commits the fallacy of weak analogy.
Example: “Guns are like hammers—they’re both tools with metal parts that could be used to kill someone. And yet it would be ridiculous to restrict the purchase of hammers—so restrictions on purchasing guns are equally ridiculous.” While guns and hammers do share certain features, these features (having metal parts, being tools, and being potentially useful for violence) are not the ones at stake in deciding whether to restrict guns. Rather, we restrict guns because they can easily be used to kill large numbers of people at a distance. This is a feature hammers do not share—it would be hard to kill a crowd with a hammer. Thus, the analogy is weak, and so is the argument based on it.
If you think about it, you can make an analogy of some kind between almost any two things in the world. So the mere fact that you can draw an analogy between two things doesn’t prove much, by itself.
Example: Pennélope writes, "This website is filled with different examples of the false analogy logical fallacy. Most of them are used in the media, in politics, and our daily life. Personally, I found it really helpful: https://biznewske.com/false-analogy-fallacy-examples/."
She also came up with the following analogy: "Airplanes are like boats. They both transport people from one piece of land to another." She notes, "This analogy is considered a logical fallacy because even though airplanes and boats are tranportation devices and are completely capable of transporting people from one piece of land to another, they have different mechanisms and methods to achieve their purpose."
In evaluating this and any other analogy, we can consider the following tip.
Tip: Identify what properties are important to the claim you’re making, and see whether the two things you’re comparing both share those properties.
(Credit: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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