The Rehabilitation of Whitehead

The Rehabilitation of Whitehead PDF Author: George R. Lucas
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780887069888
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
"Lucas' book competently brings Whitehead's philosophy into dialogue with "analytic" philosophy. This is a topic of great originality and considerable potential importance for the field of philosophy. The writing is forceful, concise, and clear." -- George L. Kline, Bryn Mawr College Lucas treats Whitehead within the framework of major themes in current Anglo-American "analytic" philosophy, viewed against the backdrop of significant historical trends in European and American thought since the Enlightenment. This most misunderstood of twentieth-century philosophers is critically interpreted here. Whitehead had developed 50 years ago some ideas only now emerging in analytic philosophy. Lucas examines the significance of Whitehead's thought for current epistemology of science, for the anti-foundationalism debate, and more generally, for modal logic, action, theory, philosophical psychology, and the philosophy of mind. He shows how some recent analytic philosophy is now developing ideas concerning language, personal identity, and other topics that are found in Whitehead. Lucas concludes with recent problems in relativity theory and quantum mechanics, indicating how these bear on the philosophy of science and on the task of forging a comprehensive understanding of nature. He examines the debates concerning Einstein and Whitehead on relativity and analyzes the work of Bohm, Prigogine, and others who have found Whitehead's categories useful for their own success. Whitehead is shown to be a historical figure of great importance, not an idiosyncratic thinker, isolated along with a few enthusiastic followers from the mainstream of contemporary philosophy. With Russell, Whitehead participated in the same philosophical world that gave rise to analytic philosophy.

The Rehabilitation of Whitehead

The Rehabilitation of Whitehead PDF Author: George R. Lucas
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780887069888
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
"Lucas' book competently brings Whitehead's philosophy into dialogue with "analytic" philosophy. This is a topic of great originality and considerable potential importance for the field of philosophy. The writing is forceful, concise, and clear." -- George L. Kline, Bryn Mawr College Lucas treats Whitehead within the framework of major themes in current Anglo-American "analytic" philosophy, viewed against the backdrop of significant historical trends in European and American thought since the Enlightenment. This most misunderstood of twentieth-century philosophers is critically interpreted here. Whitehead had developed 50 years ago some ideas only now emerging in analytic philosophy. Lucas examines the significance of Whitehead's thought for current epistemology of science, for the anti-foundationalism debate, and more generally, for modal logic, action, theory, philosophical psychology, and the philosophy of mind. He shows how some recent analytic philosophy is now developing ideas concerning language, personal identity, and other topics that are found in Whitehead. Lucas concludes with recent problems in relativity theory and quantum mechanics, indicating how these bear on the philosophy of science and on the task of forging a comprehensive understanding of nature. He examines the debates concerning Einstein and Whitehead on relativity and analyzes the work of Bohm, Prigogine, and others who have found Whitehead's categories useful for their own success. Whitehead is shown to be a historical figure of great importance, not an idiosyncratic thinker, isolated along with a few enthusiastic followers from the mainstream of contemporary philosophy. With Russell, Whitehead participated in the same philosophical world that gave rise to analytic philosophy.

Hegel and Whitehead

Hegel and Whitehead PDF Author: George R. Lucas
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780887061448
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Hegel and Whitehead presents a careful exploration of the similarities between these two formidable representatives of systematic philosophy. Some of the most distinguished scholars in European and American philosophy converge herein to explore the similarities in Hegel's and Whitehead's contemporary influence, as well as in the content of their respective systems and in their philosophical styles. This volume begins with important critical, comparative, and historical assessments of the contemporary problems in metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, ethics, social thought, and philosophy of religion, of history, and of culture against the background of the important contributions made to these discussions by both Hegel and Whitehead. The result is a collection of vigorous new essays in systematic philosophy that reflect the enduring contributions of these two philosophers to the contemporary philosophical climate on two continents.

Schleiermacher and Whitehead

Schleiermacher and Whitehead PDF Author: Christine Helmer
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110899655
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
This collection of essays stages a dialogue between Friedrich Schleiermacher and Alfred North Whitehead on significant features of 'open' system. The volume offers new options for rehabilitating system for future theological and philosophical thinking by opening system to a flexible relation with changing reality. Key ingredients for system are discussed in three areas of contact between Schleiermacher and Whitehead. One such ingredient concerns historical precedents figuring crucially in Western systematic philosophy. Another feature is the systematic categorization of experience that relates epistemology, metaphysics, and the empirical sciences. System is also brought to bear on pressing contemporary issues, such as ethics and religious pluralism.

Whitehead and Philosophy of Education

Whitehead and Philosophy of Education PDF Author: Malcolm D. Evans
Publisher: Rodopi
ISBN: 9789042004320
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
That process philosophy can be the foundation of the theory and practice of educating human beings is the main argument of this book. The process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) is the particular thinking on which this book is based. Readers are shown that Whitehead's process philosophy provides a frame, a conceptual matrix, that addresses their concerns about education and offers direction for their educative acts. Whitehead theorized that all living entities are connected in some way. Relatedness, connectedness, and holism are recurring themes in this exploration of Whitehead's implied philosophy of education. Whitehead never wrote a philosophy of education, but his writings over a period of nearly thirty years reveal a persistent interest and concern with education. His work, ranging from Introduction to Mathematics (1911) to Adventures of Ideas (1938), is drawn on here to construct, not Whitehead's philosophy of education, but, a Whiteheadian philosophy of education. Whitehead and Philosophy of Education brings to scholars and students of education an understanding of Whitehead as an important figure in philosophy, particularly philosophy of education; an acquaintance with process philosophy; a brief treatment of Whitehead's life and an account of events and experiences that influenced his philosophizing; and an exploration of the educationally salient concepts found in Whitehead's formal and informal philosophy with special attention to Whitehead's ideas about creativity, process, rhythm, wisdom, and knowledge. Whitehead writes of phases of the rhythm of education - romance, precision, and generalization. The book is organized with attention to these three phases. Part One-Romance introduces readers to Whitehead the person, and the change of context for educating from a mechanistic world-view to an organismic one. Part Two-Precision examines Whitehead's writings, as they relate to process philosophy and to educating. Part Three-Generalization is an application of the explorations of Parts One and Two, yielding a construction of a Whiteheadian philosophy of education and suggestions for educational practice.

The Mind of Whitehead

The Mind of Whitehead PDF Author: Roland Faber
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
ISBN: 0227179986
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 745

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Book Description
For Alfred North Whitehead, the fundamental basis of reality is connectivity; the possibility, interdependence and actualisation that defy our human desire for structure, categorisation and division. In this spirit, Professor Roland Faber combines the disparate interests of Whitehead's study - from Mathematics to Divinity, Political Philosophy to Cosmology - to trace the thematic similarities of this work, and establish their unity in the 'mind' of Whitehead. Focussing on the experience of reading Whitehead's rich text, Faber invites the reader not to search for fixed patterns but to explore the impermanence and diversity of Whitehead's ideas. The Mind of Whitehead offers the curious reader a creative exploration of a crucial twentieth-century philosopher, speaking to global concerns from a position of possibility and complexity.

Whitehead and China

Whitehead and China PDF Author: Wenyu Xie
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110328224
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Whitehead acknowledged that 'the philosophy of organism seems to approximate more to some strains of.Chinese thought.' Some scholars have attempted to explore this relationship and its implications. The Beijing Conference provided a good forum for interested and engaged scholars to address each other directly, in an atmosphere of mutual regard and respect. The ongoing scholarly work on process thinking in China is impressive. It is the editors’ conviction that the publication of this book in English will promote international discussion of the themes and issues herein set forth. This should contribute significantly to the broader discussion between West and East, so important in this age of cultural globalization. Contributors: John B Cobb, Jr, David R Griffin, Catherine Keller, Meijun Fan, Ronald Phipps, Joseph Grange, George Derfer, Wang Shik Jiang, Brook Ziporyn, Michel Weber, Wenyu Xie, HUAN Huogui, Zhihe Wang, HAN Zhen LI Shiyan, ZHANG Nini.

Whitehead's Pancreativism

Whitehead's Pancreativism PDF Author: Michel Weber
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110330776
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
There is one question that any potential reader who suspects that Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) might be important for past, contemporary, and future philosophy inevitably raises: how should I read Whitehead? How can I make sense of this incredibly dense tissue of imaginative systematizing, spread over decades of work in disciplines so different and specialized as algebra, geometry, logic, relativistic physics and philosophy of science? Accordingly, this monograph has two main complementary objectives. The first one is to propose a set of efficient hermeneutical tools to get the reader started. These straightforward tools provide answers that are highly coherent and probably the most applicable to Whitehead's entire corpus. The second objective is to illustrate how the several parts of Process and Reality are interconnected, something that all commentators have either failed to recognise or only incompletely acknowledged.

Whitehead’s View of Reality

Whitehead’s View of Reality PDF Author: W. Creighton Peden
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443820989
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
Whitehead’s View of Reality developed from conversations between the authors about the need for a work that would be of assistance to students ready to undertake a study of Alfred North Whitehead’s Process and Reality. The volume begins with a biographical sketch of Whitehead’s life, in order that one can understand the various stages in his professional development as well as the radically changing times in which his thought progressed. It is hoped that the Whiteheads’ encounter with Gertrude Stein will provide the student with a stronger feeling of Whitehead as a person. Charles Hartshorne undertook the task of placing Whitehead within a historical context. The context in which Whitehead is presented is that of being one of the few great philosophers in Western culture who engaged in speculative or metaphysical philosophy. The influence of Plato and Leibniz is noted, as well as Hartshorne’s personal preference for Peirce and Bergson in relation to Whitehead’s speculative philosophy. Whitehead agreed with all these great metaphysicians that the explanation of matter was to be sought in mind, not that of mind in matter. Hume, Kant, Russell and William James are noted as major non-speculative thinkers whose thought received careful consideration by Whitehead. Hume, the Buddhists, and Whitehead agreed that, strictly speaking, a so-called substance is a new concrete reality each moment. It is Hartshorne’s judgment that Whitehead does the best job of retaining aspects of truth in our commonsense notions of individual things and persons. Hartshorne also discusses the paradoxes that arise as we search for our self-identity. He contends that we can escape from these paradoxes if we accept Whitehead’s contention that concrete actualities are not in the last analysis enduring, changing substances but successive momentary stages of what are called substances or individuals. This should lead us to understand that we have an asymmetrical identity with the successive momentary stages of our relations. Hartshorne also notes that the basic concepts developed by Whitehead are based on his understanding that actual entities are the real subjects that experience, perceive, remember, and think. Thus, the basic form of experience is perception. Hartshorne further suggests that perhaps Whitehead is the first philosopher to view perception, which includes memory, as experience of the past rather than of the present. In discussing Whitehead’s philosophical theology, Hartshorne indicats that his view of God was an alternative to the standard metaphysical conception of deity which had prevailed since Aristotle. The problem of divine knowledge had been at the core of the problems with classical theism. The issue was whether everything I do is decided at my coming to exist. If so, then we are nothing but a clog in the cosmic machinery. Hartshorne suggests that the first theologian to view this issue sharply was Fausto Socinus who took the idea of human decision-making seriously and rejected the notion that divine omnipotence determines human decisions. He suggested among others had something in common with the Socinians. Hartshorne concluds his remarks focusing on unresolved problems in Whitehead’s theism. Creighton Peden’s responsibility is to present an exposition of Whitehead’s philosophy, with primary attention at first given to his basic terms, as well as to the foundation principles and structure of his method. Analysis is then given his metaphysical scheme from the perspective of his method. The focus of attention then shifts to Whitehead’s doctrine of God and his view of religion. Peden concludes with a comparative evaluation of Whitehead’s position with traditional Christian thought. Consideration is given to three general problems raised by traditional Christians. The first point of contention is that Whitehead’s God is not the infinite and eternal God of the Universe but is rather a limited God within the Universe. In the second case, traditional Christian theology would assert that Whitehead’s God does not actually save because he does not save the individual. The third problem would hold that Whitehead’s God is not the or a personal God.

Whitehead at Harvard, 1924-1925

Whitehead at Harvard, 1924-1925 PDF Author: Henning Brian G. Henning
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474459420
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
In these newly commissioned essays, leading Whitehead scholars ask a range of important questions about Whitehead's first year of philosophy lectures. Do these lectures challenge or confirm previous understandings of Whitehead's published works? What is revealed about the development of Whitehead's thought in the crucial period after London but before the publication of Science and the Modern World? What should we make of concepts and terms that were introduced in these lectures but were never incorporated into subsequent publications? Also included is the text of Whitehead's first lecture at Harvard, recently gifted to the Critical Edition, allowing for a clearer understanding of Whitehead's plans and goals for his first course of lectures in philosophy than has previously been possible.

Thinking with Whitehead and the American Pragmatists

Thinking with Whitehead and the American Pragmatists PDF Author: Brian G. Henning
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 0739190326
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Despite there being deep lines of convergence between the philosophies of Alfred North Whitehead, C. S. Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and other classical American philosophers, it remains an open question whether Whitehead is a pragmatist, and conversation between pragmatists and Whitehead scholars have been limited. Indeed, it is difficult to find an anthology of classical American philosophy that includes Whitehead’s writings. These camps began separately, and so they remain. This volume questions the wisdom of that separation, exploring their connections, both historical and in application. The essays in this volume embody original and creative work by leading scholars that not only furthers the understanding of American philosophy, but seeks to advance it by working at the intersection of experience and reality to incite novel and creative thought. This exploration is long overdue. Specific questions that are addressed are: Is Whitehead a pragmatist? What contrasts and affinities exist between American pragmatism and Whitehead’s thought? What new questions, strategies, and critiques emerge by juxtaposing their distinct perspectives?