Synaptic plasticity in neurological deficit as a form of indemnification: The utility of analogical reasoning

Abstract

Analogical reasoning is a useful analytical tool for formulating a hypothesis from which to springboard rigorous methodological analysis. Paradoxically, the tool's utility lies in its capacity to conceptualize a viable avenue for further inquiry as much as in its capacity to expose flaws in the analogical concept hypothesized. While it should not be the exclusive means upon which to rely absent evidence-based data or other valid corroboration, analogies provide an important means of stimulating creative thought. An illustration is offered: analogizing synaptic plasticity in neurological deficits to the invocation of a contractual indemnification.