would someone please explain the quotation below by Sir Isaac Newton?

Question

''If you have seen further,it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.

Answer 1

I thought it was "If I have seen further..."

He means that the advances he made in science depended on the work of many others before him. It wasn't an original thought of Newton's though, and goes back to at least the 12th century...

Answer 2

If you ARE writing an essay - almost all of the answers given with the exception of Fordy's (who I think was writing tongue-in-cheek) could be used, especially if you get hold of the books cited, and produced a clear argument with a suitably satisfying conclusion - but be sure to read EXACTLY what the question says and make sure you answer it - However well you interpret the meaning of this quotation, your essay will not receive good marks unless you address the question set. A lot of people do badly in exams because they fail to do this. If the question just cites the quotation and says "Discuss" - then give plenty of examples where great progress has been made ('seeing further') by scientists,philosophers or inventors by the using the sum of the knowledge of those great thinkers who came before (the giants referred to in the quotation).

Answer 3

Yes, he could be wrong, or simply misinterpreted, or it could be that he was right, and his calculations in the global cooling model were somehow proven correct, and that credibility carried confidence that a simple reversal of some signs (- to +, etc) could convert his findings for use in global warming models. Isaac and Al? That's taking it a bit far I think. Mathematicians and politicians only work together when forced to, often to the extreme of being at gunpoint or the like LOL.

Answer 4

The version I heard was that he said "If I have seen further..." etc
He was being modest; gives some hope for the rest of us.
Newton had a reputation for not being modest at all, so it is surprising. He tried to defame Leibniz, who was a mathematician who derived Calculus in a total different way from Newton.
I've read a few books of that time - Descartes, Montaigne, Bacon. They were all amazingly modest in the preface to their works. I don't know if he said it in writing or conversation.

Answer 5

It's an homage to the people who have broken the ground of science before you. Though your accomplishments may be the greatest of your day they were only possible due to the efforts of those who came before.
He refers to these progenitors of science as Giants to show how truly herculean their tasks were.

If your intention is to write a paper on this particular quote, I urge you to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and additionally cite the story of Hercules task involving Atlas. Holding the world on your shoulders was a common allusion of the Enlightenment, the time period in which Newton participated and truly was one of the greatest thinkers of.

Answer 6

Hey, Edd, I bet you know pretty well the meaning of it. In fact Sir Isaac made a good job of putting it through. He got it to be crystal clear, in fact that's why I think the sentence became so famous. "Standign upon the shoulders of giants" it sounds thrilling and frightening at the same time ¿Don't you think so? I do love it. It makes me think of the view from the pyramids.

Answer 7

One builds upon the achievements of those who have come before. Newton could formulate new ideas in physics because thinkers before him had gotten thought to the point at which Newton could see where to go from there.

Answer 8

Many people before us have questioned the world around them. People have been studying existence through philosophy, biology, astronomy, etc... for virtually all of human history. Their work helps us see the world more clearly. We don't need to worry about the basic questions, like why things fall, for example, because of theories like gravity! So we can develop theories on greater subjects, venture into new areas of exploration. Standing on the shoulders of those who came before us, to see the world with even deeper understanding.

That's my interpretation, anyway.

Answer 9

There is a school of thought that says that as Newton was quite a vindictive and bitter character, and was poking malicious fun at his great contemporary rival Robert Hook,who was very short in stature. Hook, was the equal to Newton, and it is possible to argue, he was the better scientist.

Answer 10

It is referring to our ability to build on others discoveries. Someone who built the TV built on the discovery of someone who invented electricity. So with regards to vision and inventions, our inventions or fore site is only greater because we are building on others for site and vision - so be grateful to those who have gone before you who have paved the way for us to jump higher, run faster and see further