The argumentative functions of analogy in the Apology of Socrates

Abstract

The word analogy has its origins in the world of ancient Greece, the first record of its use takes us to the work of Architias of Taranto. Architias was an outstanding statesman and mathematician; in music he was interested in the numerical relationships between the notes of the tetrachord, these numerical distances between the notes he called proportions, αναλογαι. However, the interpretation of proportion as a mathematical relationship perhaps has its origins in a less formal, less mathematical use. The proportion implies a correspondence, in the case of mathematics a correspondence between numbers: 4 is to 5 what 9 is to 10, however, we do not only formulate correspondences in mathematics, we also consider that there are correspondences in other areas: A is the mother of B and B is the mother of C, therefore, A is to B what B is to A.

Analogy is a linguistic resource that is well known for its explanatory use, as well as its use in artistic creations; What we propose here is to show one more use: the one that concerns argumentation. Although it is possible to do analytical work by developing ad hoc analogies, our purpose is to search for examples in philosophical discourse that bring us closer to their way of arguing. To do this, we will review Plato's apology.