argument from analogy

Definition
The argument from analogy attempts to consider the problem of other minds by claiming that we can come to know that there are other minds by observing how the behavior of others mirrors that of our own. (Pritchard, Ch.18, pg. 179)

Although initially persuasive, the argument from analogy runs into problems on closer inspection. For one thing, the style of argument being employed here is not a good one, even if we set aside the more general worries one might have about inductive arguments that we looked at in Chapter 10. Compare the argument given above with the following inductive argument:

1 Box A is brown and it contains a book. 2 Boxes B, C, and D are brown. C Boxes B, C, and D contain a book.” - Pritchard, Ch. 18, pg. 180

Suppose I see someone writhing in agony on the ground before me. Do I really need to make an inference in order to know that he is in pain? Can’t I just see, directly, that he is in pain? At first pass, this proposal might look like mere dogmatism, but notice that this sort of view is structurally very similar to the direct realism as regards perceptual knowledge that we looked at in Chapter 7.” - Pritchard, Ch. 18, pg. 197