Back Dempeus sobre espatlles de gegants Catalan Zwerge auf den Schultern von Riesen German Staranta sur la ŝultro de gigantoj Esperanto Pararse sobre hombros de gigantes Spanish ایستادن بر شانه‌های غول Persian Des nains sur des épaules de géants French עומדים על כתפי ענקים HE Zahvaljujući velikanima Croatian 巨人の肩の上 Japanese Sobre os ombros de gigantes Portuguese

Standing on the shoulders of giants

For other uses, see Standing on the shoulders of giants (disambiguation) and On the Shoulders of Giants.

The phrase "standing on the shoulders of giants" is a metaphor which means "using the understanding gained by major thinkers who have gone before in order to make intellectual progress".[1]

It is a metaphor of dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants (Latin: nani gigantum humeris insidentes) and expresses the meaning of "discovering truth by building on previous discoveries".[2] This concept has been dated to the 12th century and, according to John of Salisbury, is attributed to Bernard of Chartres. But its most familiar and popular expression occurs in a 1675 letter by Isaac Newton: "if I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."[3]

  1. ^ The meaning and origin of the expression: Standing on the shoulders of giants, The Phrase Finder.
  2. ^ Keith, Bonnie (2016). Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137552204. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  3. ^ Newton, Isaac. "Letter from Sir Isaac Newton to Robert Hooke". Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 7 June 2018.

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