  In law, by contrast, analogies carry a weight additional to the merits of the case. The approach of courts is complex. Some decisions and doctrines are regarded as mistakes and have no analogical weight. Other doctrines may be regarded as imperfect—not wholly correct—but do have analogical weight. Other still may be regarded as simply correct, and their existence provides further support for adopting the view in the novel case. There are a number of possible indirect benefits that accrue from the practice of analogical reasoning, such as exposing judges to a wider variety of fact situations than the particular set before them, making them consider the views of other judges in previous cases and exerting a conservative pressure on individual decision-makers (see Sherwin 1999). But is there any more fundamental rationale to the form of reasoning?