Jonathon Hricko (National Yang-Ming University), Yafeng Shan (Tel Aviv University)
This paper examines the nature of analogical reasoning in Humphry Davy's work in electrochemistry in order to shed light on the nature of analogical reasoning in scientific practice more generally. We examine Davy's reflections regarding analogical reasoning and specific examples of analogical reasoning in his work on electrochemical decomposition reported in his 1806 and 1807 Bakerian Lectures. We conclude that Davy's analogical reasoning provided a way of guiding scientific practice, and experimentation in particular, in the absence of theoretical consensus. This picture of analogical reasoning presents a useful contrast to much of the philosophical literature on that topic.
