Analogical Reasoning in Science

As historians of science have noted, one strategy common to the natural and the social sciences is the use of analogy. Formulating hypotheses about an unknown system construed by analogy with what is observed in a more familiar system has proven to be a source of discoveries. This Element aims to clarify the main epistemological questions at stake.

As historians of science have noted, one strategy common to the natural and the social sciences is the use of analogy. Formulating hypotheses about an unknown system construed by analogy with what is observed in a more familiar system has proven to be a source of discoveries. This Element aims to clarify the main epistemological questions at stake.