Orientation on the similar Analogies for ethical wayfinding

Abstract

This article argues that ethics is not just a means for orientation but is itself a practice of orientation. A foundational example of this claim is the role of analogies in ethical reasoning. In contrast to deductive conclusions, analogical arguments expand our perspectives and thinking, while keeping them open for questioning. They allow for new insights to emerge without dictating or pre-determining them. Thus, this form of learning and knowing resembles the practice of orientation – it is temporary, situational and guided by shared value systems.
Werner Stegmaier’s philosophy of orientation and Sybille Krämer’s metaphor of the map serve as a blueprint for reconfiguring the structural similarities for navigating ethical reasoning. The legal system, in particular the precedent in Common Law, serves as an example as to how analogical argumentation is applied by institutions to construct situational rationality. This rationality is also exemplified within ethics in debates on analogical reasoning between Bruce Waller, Trudy Govier and Georg Spielthenner: While Waller sees analogical arguments as results of deductive structures, Govier argues for their independent stature and Spielthenner locates their justification in the premise of “ethical equivalence”.
Following on, an analysis of casuistry demonstrates how analogical arguments become tools for moral judgement in real-life contexts, such as in medical ethics. Casuistic argumentation combines case-by-case application with normative reflection in three phases (identification of similarities, explanatory justification, evaluation). Rather than functioning as deductive starting points, these principles serve as explanatory reference points.
From an evaluatory viewpoint, the particular strength of analogical arguments is not their formal structure but rather their integrability in existing constructs of beliefs. Therefore, analogical arguments are not facts of evidence—they are instruments of discursive orientation. Thus, ethics are a continuous practice of orienting and navigating through uncertainty in moral landscapes to find plausible and shared paths towards “the good”.