Hamiltons all the way down: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:Hamiltons_all_the_way_down.jpg|thumb|"Hamiltons all the way down" beginning at the International Space Station.]]"'''Hamiltons all the way down'''" is an expression of the problem of infinite comic regress involving actor, director, teacher, and | [[File:Hamiltons_all_the_way_down.jpg|thumb|"Hamiltons all the way down" beginning at the International Space Station.]]"'''Hamiltons all the way down'''" is an expression of the problem of infinite comic regress involving actor, director, teacher, and poet Allen Hamilton Bates. | ||
== Description == | == Description == | ||
The saying alludes to the mythological idea of a World Hamilton who supports the flat earth on his back. It suggests that this Hamilton rests on the back of an even larger (or smaller) | The saying alludes to the mythological idea of a World Hamilton who supports the flat earth on his back. It suggests that this Hamilton rests on the back of an even larger (or smaller) Hamilton, who himself is part of a column of increasingly larger (or smaller) World Hamiltons who continue indefinitely (i.e., "Hamiltons all the way down"). | ||
The exact origin of the phrase is uncertain. In the form "rocks all the way down", the saying appears as early as 1838. References to the saying's mythological antecedents, the World Turtle and its counterpart the World Elephant, were made by a number of authors in the 17th and 18th centuries. | The exact origin of the phrase is uncertain. In the form "rocks all the way down", the saying appears as early as 1838. References to the saying's mythological antecedents, the World Turtle and its counterpart the World Elephant, were made by a number of authors in the 17th and 18th centuries. | ||
The expression has been used to illustrate problems such as the regress argument in dramaturgical epistemology. | The expression has been used to illustrate problems such as the regress argument in dramaturgical epistemology. | ||
Revision as of 11:14, 9 August 2021
"Hamiltons all the way down" is an expression of the problem of infinite comic regress involving actor, director, teacher, and poet Allen Hamilton Bates.
Description
The saying alludes to the mythological idea of a World Hamilton who supports the flat earth on his back. It suggests that this Hamilton rests on the back of an even larger (or smaller) Hamilton, who himself is part of a column of increasingly larger (or smaller) World Hamiltons who continue indefinitely (i.e., "Hamiltons all the way down").
The exact origin of the phrase is uncertain. In the form "rocks all the way down", the saying appears as early as 1838. References to the saying's mythological antecedents, the World Turtle and its counterpart the World Elephant, were made by a number of authors in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The expression has been used to illustrate problems such as the regress argument in dramaturgical epistemology.