false analogies
Misleading parallel reasoning
False analogies are comparisons that seem illuminating but break down under scrutiny because the two things compared differ in ways that matter.
The reasoning goes: A and B share some features, so they must share others—but the shared features are superficial or irrelevant to the conclusion.
Saying the government should balance its budget like a household is a false analogy—governments can print currency and tax.
A staple of rhetoric and logical fallacy lists.
- apples to orangesPhrase for flawed comparisons
- spuriousnessQuality of being false
- mismatchIncompatible combination
- category errorAssigning wrong logical kind
- logical fallacyError in reasoning
misconceptions · fallacy · flawed reasoning · comparing apples · overgeneralization · hasty generalization · cherry picking · straw man · deception · distortion · slippery slope · fabrication · red herring · equivocation · falsehood · misrepresentation · oversimplification · inaccuracies