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JonJay on March 7, 2022

Analogy vs Counterexample

Hi there, I eliminated answer choice (D) since it contained the word 'Analogy'. Had it substituted the word 'Counterexample' for the word 'Analogy' I would have chosen it instead. In other words, I ruled this out because I believed the definition of 'Analogy' to be something along the lines of "describing an occurrence/situation that overlaps enough with the given occurrence/situation that truths/conclusions about the given occurrence/situation can be sussed out by sussing out truths from the analogous situation". To me, an analogy, therefore, employs a general example. A counterexample, on the other hand, gives a specific example that counters a point being made. Ruth gives a specific example, stating there are currently authors who writing about Roman culture and doing so 'well'. How is this an analogy and not a counterexample when the threshold for a counterexample, in this case specificity, seems to have been met? Thank you, JJI

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Emil-Kunkin on March 9, 2022


Hi JonJay,

I think that an analogy could be any situation or occurrence used to prove or disprove a point at issue. By the definition that you used, any situation with an overlap could be used, not necessarily just one that is a general example.

Additionally, I think that most examples will be specific- I might be misunderstanding what you mean by a general or specific example.

In the LSAT language an analogy is just any similar situation which shares enough common characteristics to the situation in question- which the modern writers writing about ancient Rome does.