Analogy As Part Of An Apology: English, Literature And Philosophy (Essay Sample)

NAME: SUBJECT: ENGLISH, LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY TOPIC: ANALOGY AS PART OF AN APOLOGY TUTOR: DATE OF ISSUE: The word analogy is a commonly used word with its basic meaning; creating a scenario to help elaborate or explain a phenomena either on grounds of comparison or contrast. According to the Oxford Dictionary, an analogy is defined as a relationship of resemblance or equivalence between two situations, people or objects especially used as a basis of explanation or extrapolation. Analogy as an integral part of an apology is core. In many instances, confessing you hurt someone in itself is not enough. More often we lay emphasis on saying we are sorry and tend to forget that we need to do more than making a confession that we hurt someone deliberately or unintentionally through our actions or behaviors. According to research conducted by Philosophers and psychologists, sincerity and non reactivity when giving an apology is key, what they termed as a critical ingredient of an apology. Sincerity is expounded as the heart-felt apology that which is manufactured by self conviction. Non reactivity on the other hand is the art of being patient with the hurt person and avoiding defense. The two when utilized together were seen to be central in making an effective apology. According to Aaron Lazare, an apology has several components that if used together in whatever order they will appear, can lead to a success in filing an apology. First, there is the art of accepting the fault; explaining what the fault was; recognizing the effect of the fault; explaining your behavior; giving assurance that the mistake will never repeat itself and lastly making up for the fault. In owning up the fault, it is expected you confess that you are sorry and that you apologize deeply for your fault because you noticed your deliberate or unintentional behavior or actions hurt him/her. The basic principle in this initial step is accepting that a wrong doing was realized and that it was received negatively by the person it was directed to. Secondly, it is important to go beyond saying you are sorry to explaining your fault. It is important to dig into specifics of what exactly the actions or behaviors were that got the other person pissed off. For instance, one would say, I am sorry I insulted you as silly and narrow minded. It would be wrong to say, I am sorry I called you names. Research indicates that there is power in digging details when making an apology as it reflects how deep and certain you are with your mistake, easing up the offended person making it easy to forgive. In addition, it is important to recognize the effect your actions caused on the other person. This appears so difficult, but it is very important as it demonstrate how much you understand the impact of your behavior. For instance one would say, I am sorry I spoiled your evening and embarrassed you before your friends when I called you silly and narrow minded. Furthermore, giving an explanation for your behavior is equally significant. The “why” bit of the behavior or action is key. Many take it so light and see no need to give explanations giving justifications of “more so they will not understand” or “I owe no one an explanation”. In our case for instance, one would say, I felt you were talking about me with Kim when you were pointing towards my direction that made me mad to insult you. Many confuse this with defense which it is not. Moreover, it is central to confess the mistake will not repeat itself. It should come out clearly why the mistake wil...