Overview

A multiple analogy is a structured comparison in which several sources are likened to a target. In Multiple analogies in science and philosophy, Shelley provides a thorough account of the cognitive representations and processes that participate in multiple analogy formation. Through analysis of real examples taken from the fields of evolutionary biology, archaeology, and Plato's Republic, Shelley argues that multiple analogies are not simply concatenated single analogies but are instead the general form of analogical inference, of which single analogies are a special case. The result is a truly general cognitive model of analogical inference.Shelley also shows how a cognitive account of multiple analogies addresses important philosophical issues such as the confidence that one may have in an analogical explanation, and the role of analogy in science and philosophy. This book lucidly demonstrates that important questions regarding analogical inference cannot be answered adequately by consideration of single analogies alone.

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9789027223630

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Shelley takes apart several well-established analogies and puts back together, into one unified model, what makes these analogies legitimate, or persuasive. By providing insight of this kind into the workings of our mind, and into what exactly we select, along the reasoning process, to make an analogy gain to a broad readership, not only among biologists, archaeologists, philosophers and scientists in general, but to anyone interested in the cognitive mechanisms of acquiring knowledge. -- Madalena Cruz-Ferreira, National University of Singapore, on Linguist List Vol. 15-701, February 2004.

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