Theories of analogy

Theories of analogy explore how we recognize similarities between different things. They suggest that analogy involves identifying relationships between one set of objects and applying that understanding to another. For example, recognizing that “king” is to “queen” as “prince” is to “princess” involves understanding the relationships between titles and gender. These theories examine the mental processes behind finding these correspondences, whether through shared patterns, common features, or relational similarities. Essentially, they explain how our minds draw connections across different concepts, helping us learn, communicate, and solve problems through recognizing analogous relationships.