Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead

Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead PDF Author: Michael Epperson
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823283062
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
In Process and Reality and other works, Alfred North Whitehead struggled to come to terms with the impact the new science of quantum mechanics would have on metaphysics. This ambitious book is the first extended analysis of the intricate relationships between relativity theory, quantum mechanics, and Whitehead's cosmology. Michael Epperson illuminates the intersection of science and philosophy in Whitehead's work-and details Whitehead's attempts to fashion an ontology coherent with quantum anomalies. Including a nonspecialist introduction to quantum mechanics, Epperson adds an essential new dimension to our understanding of Whitehead-and of the constantly enriching encounter between science and philosophy in our century.

Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead

Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead PDF Author: Michael Epperson
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823283062
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
In Process and Reality and other works, Alfred North Whitehead struggled to come to terms with the impact the new science of quantum mechanics would have on metaphysics. This ambitious book is the first extended analysis of the intricate relationships between relativity theory, quantum mechanics, and Whitehead's cosmology. Michael Epperson illuminates the intersection of science and philosophy in Whitehead's work-and details Whitehead's attempts to fashion an ontology coherent with quantum anomalies. Including a nonspecialist introduction to quantum mechanics, Epperson adds an essential new dimension to our understanding of Whitehead-and of the constantly enriching encounter between science and philosophy in our century.

Event Universe

Event Universe PDF Author: Leemon B. McHenry
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474404782
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Leemon McHenry argues that Whitehead's metaphysics provides a better basis for achieving a unification of physical theory than a traditional substance metaphysics. He investigates the influence of Maxwell's electromagnetic field, Einstein's theory of relativity and quantum mechanics on the development of the ontology of events and compares Whitehead's theory to his contemporaries, C. D. Broad and Bertrand Russell, as well as W. V. Quine. In this way, McHenry defends the naturalised and speculative approach to metaphysics as opposed to analytical and linguistic methods that arose in the 20th century.

Whitehead's Philosophy of Physics

Whitehead's Philosophy of Physics PDF Author: Laurence Bright
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Physics
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description


Physics and Whitehead

Physics and Whitehead PDF Author: Timothy E. Eastman
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791459140
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Leading scholars explore the connections between quantum physics and process philosophy.

Principia Mathematica

Principia Mathematica PDF Author: Alfred North Whitehead
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Logic, Symbolic and mathematical
Languages : en
Pages : 688

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Book Description


Whitehead's Metaphysics of Extension and Solidarity

Whitehead's Metaphysics of Extension and Solidarity PDF Author: Jorge Luis Nobo
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438414803
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
At the base of Whitehead's philosophy of organism is a vision of the solidarity of all final actualities. Each actuality is a discrete individual enjoying autonomous self-determination, yet each also requires all other actualities as essential components and partial determinants of its own nature. This vision of universal solidarity, Nobo demonstrates, is the fundamental metaphysical thesis whose truth the categories and principles of Whitehead's philosophy were expressly designed to elucidate. The received interpretations of Whitehead's thought, Nobo shows, have ignored the mutual relevance of the solidarity thesis and the organic categoreal scheme and, for that reason, have grossly misrepresented many of Whitehead's most important metaphysical doctrines. Contending that the difficult tasks of interpreting and developing Whitehead's metaphysics presuppose an understanding of the solidarity thesis, Nobo explores that thesis and the metaphysical categories and principles most relevant to its elucidation. In the process, he not only corrects many misinterpretations but also develops important metaphysical doctrines that Whitehead neglected to make sufficiently explicit in his published writings. It is precisely in terms of the neglected doctrine of eternal extensive continuity, Nobo demonstrates, that the more puzzling aspects of the solidarity thesis are satisfactorily explained. He then shows that the extensional solidarity of all final actualities is an essential ingredient of the generalized conception of experience on which Whitehead builds his ontology, cosmology, and epistemology.

Physics and Whitehead

Physics and Whitehead PDF Author: Timothy E. Eastman
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791485994
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
Featuring discussions and dialogue by prominent scientists and philosophers, this book explores the rich interface of contemporary physics and Whitehead-inspired process thought. The contributors share the conviction that quantum physics not only corroborates many of Whitehead's philosophical theses, but is also illuminated by them. Thus, though differing in perspective or emphasis, the contributions by Geoffrey Chew, David Finkelstein, Henry Stapp and other scientists conceptually dovetail with those of Philip Clayton, Jorge Nobo, Yutaka Tanaka and other process philosophers.

The Concept of Nature

The Concept of Nature PDF Author: Alfred North Whitehead
Publisher: Cosimo, Inc.
ISBN: 1602062137
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Hailed as "one of the most valuable books on the relation of philosophy and science," Alfred North Whitehead's The Concept of Nature, first published in 1920, was an important contribution to the development of philosophic naturalism. Examining the fundamental problems of substance, space, and time, Whitehead assesses the impact of Einstein's theories as well as the then-recent findings of modern physics on the concept of nature. For students and teachers of natural philosophy, this is essential reading. English mathematician and philosopher ALFRED NORTH WHITEHEAD (1861-1947) contributed significantly to 20th-century logic and metaphysics. With Bertrand Russell he cowrote the landmark Principia Mathematica, and also authored An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Natural Knowledge, The Function of Reason, and Process and Reality.

The Quantum of Explanation

The Quantum of Explanation PDF Author: Randall E. Auxier
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1351792482
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
The Quantum of Explanation advances a bold new theory of how explanation ought to be understood in philosophical and cosmological inquiries. Using a complete interpretation of Alfred North Whitehead’s philosophical and mathematical writings and an interpretive structure that is essentially new, Auxier and Herstein argue that Whitehead has never been properly understood, nor has the depth and breadth of his contribution to the human search for knowledge been assimilated by his successors. This important book effectively applies Whitehead’s philosophy to problems in the interpretation of science, empirical knowledge, and nature. It develops a new account of philosophical naturalism that will contribute to the current naturalism debate in both Analytic and Continental philosophy. Auxier and Herstein also draw attention to some of the most important differences between the process theology tradition and Whitehead’s thought, arguing in favor of a Whiteheadian naturalism that is more or less independent of theological concerns. This book offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to Whitehead’s philosophy and is an essential resource for students and scholars interested in American philosophy, the philosophy of mathematics and physics, and issues associated with naturalism, explanation and radical empiricism.

Science and Philosophy

Science and Philosophy PDF Author: Alfred North Whitehead
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1497675804
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
From a discussion of Einstein’s theories to an analysis of meaning, the philosopher offers a fascinating collection of essays on a wide range of topics. This is a collection of many of Whitehead’s papers that are scattered elsewhere. It was the penultimate book he published, and represents his mature thoughts on many topics. Philosophical Library has done a great service by publishing a representative collection of his writings on the subjects of Philosophy, Education and Science. The portion on Philosophy includes five papers: “Immortality”, “Mathematics and the Good”, “Process and Reality”, “John Dewey and His Influence” and the “Analysis of Meaning.” The first three chapters consist of Whitehead’s personal reflections illumined by flashes of his lively humor. They are picturesque and amusing. The remainder of the book consists of chapters on Philosophy, Education, and Science. They cover in depth his positions on many scientific and philosophical matters in an extraordinarily unified way. The final section of the book is devoted to excellent surveys of Geometry and Mathematics as well as a paper on Einstein’s theories.