Analogies, paradigms and exemplars share a common and complex history. Aristotle actually used the term “paradigm†to describe what philosophy later came to call “analogyâ€. All three of these argumentative tools are located in between theory and practice. The article argues that the debate about whether they are more theoretical or more practical – reminiscent of the question discussed in the context of legal realism whether law consists of (practical) experience or (theoretic) rules – is not helpful as one cannot properly locate the origin of paradigmaticity.
