# Ryle's regress

> English word · Proper noun

## Definitions
1. The paradoxical situation whereby, if one accepts the cognitivist theory that every action is preceded by a thought, each thought must also be preceded by another thought, and so thinking could apparently never begin.

## Etymology
Described by Gilbert Ryle.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ryle-s-regress