Archimedean point

noun

: a reliably certain position or starting point that serves as the basis for argument or reasoning

My next concern, however, is with a different attempt to start from the ground up, one that tries to find an Archimedean point without using Aristotelian assumptions.

—Bernard Williams, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, 1985

Because the existence of the transcendental ego is indubitable, its discovery serves both to distinguish phenomenology from the empirical sciences and to provide the Archimedean point at which to begin our studies.

—Richard Schmitt, The Encyclopedia Of Philosophy, 1967

Any serious policy requires a fixed point from which to alter the world. Bismarck's Archimedean point was the belief in the uniqueness of Prussian institutions.

—Henry A. Kissinger, New York Times Book Review, 3 Apr. 2011

also : a detached position or point of view from which to perceive and deal with a subject objectively

Sisters Lutz and Lutz Fernandez are an anthropology professor and an investment banker turned English teacher, respectively. … Their gender arguably gives them the additional advantage of an Archimedean point from which to critique a masculinised car culture.

—Grace Lees-Maffei, The (London) Times Higher Education Supplement, 6 May 2010

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

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