I'ALLACIES OF GENERALISATION. 



521 



if there were any reasonable ground 

 for even suspecting such a connection, 

 a probability would arise of the exist- 

 ence of inhabitants in the planets, 

 which might be of any degree of 

 strength, up to a complete induction; 

 but we should then infer the fact 

 from the ascertained or presumed 

 law of causation, and not from the 

 analogy of the earth. 



The name analogy, however, is 

 sometimes employed by extension to 

 denote those arguments of an induc- 

 tive character, but not amounting to 

 a real induction, which are employed 

 to strengthen the argument drawn 

 from a simple resemblance. Though 

 A, the property common to the two 

 cases, cannot be shown to be the cause 

 or effect of B, the analogical reasoner 

 will endeavour to show that there is 

 some less close degree of connection 

 between them ; that A is one of a set 

 of conditions from which, when all 

 united, B would result ; or is an occa- 

 sional effect of some cause which has 

 been known also to produce B ; and 

 the like. Any of which things, if 

 shown, would render the existence of 

 B by so much more pn^bable than if 

 there had not been even that amount 

 of known connection between B and A. 



Now an error or fallacy of analc^ 

 may occur in two ways. Sometimes 

 it consists in employing an argument 

 of either of the above kinds, with cor- 

 rectness indeed, but overrating its 

 probative force. This very common 

 aberration is sometimes supposed to 

 be particularly incident to persons 

 distinguished for their imagination ; 

 but in reality it is the characteristic 

 intellectual vice of those whose ima- 

 ginations are barren, either from want 

 of exercise, natural defect, or the nar- 

 rowness of their range of ideas. To 

 such minds objects present themselves 

 clothed in but few properties ; and as, 

 therefore, few analogies between one 

 object and another occur to them, they 

 almost invariably overrate the degree 

 of importance of those few ; while one 

 whose fancy takes a wider range per- 

 ceives and remembers so many analo- 



gies tending to conflicting conclusions, 

 that he is much less likely to lay 

 undue stress on any of them. We 

 always find that those are the greatest 

 slaves to metaphorical language who 

 have but one set of metaphors. 



But this is only one of the modes 

 of error in the employment of argu- 

 ments of analogy. There is another, 

 more properly deserving the name of 

 fallacy, namely, when resemblance in 

 one point is inferred from resemblance 

 in another point, though there is not 

 only no evidence to connect the two 

 circumstances by way of causation, 

 but the evidence tends positively to 

 disconnect them. This is properly 

 the Fallacy of False Analogies. 



As a first instance, we may cite 

 that favourite argument in defence of 

 absolute power drawn from the ana- 

 Jogy of paternal government in a 

 family, which government, however 

 much in need of control, is not and 

 cannot be controlled by the children 

 themselves, while they remain chil- 

 dren. Paternal government, says the 

 argument, works well, therefore de- 

 spotic government in a state will 

 work well. I waive, as not pertinent 

 in this place, all that could be said in 

 qualification of the alleged excellence 

 of paternal government. However 

 this might be, the argument from the 

 family to the state would not the less 

 proceed on a false analogy, implying 

 that the beneficial working of parental 

 government depends, in the family, 

 on the only point which it has in com- 

 mon with political despotism, namely, 

 irresponsibility. Whereas it depends, 

 when real, not on that, but on two 

 other circumstances of the case, the 

 affection of the parent for the chil- 

 dren, and the superiority of the parent 

 in wisdom and ej^erience ; neither 

 of which properties can be reckoned 

 on, or are at all likely to exist, be- 

 tween a political despot and his sub- 

 jects ; and when either of these cir- 

 cumstances fails even in the family, 

 and the influence of the irresponsi- 

 bility is allowed to work uncorrected, 

 the result is anything but good gov* 



