Process Philosophy in Five Easy Pieces

Process Philosophy in Five Easy Pieces

These â€œfive easy piecesâ€ are a guided tour of one of the most original and creative minds in the history of Western philosophy. Welcome to the â€œprocess universeâ€ and the â€œuniversal processâ€ of Alfred North Whitehead. In an age of specialization, Whitehead was a modern Renaissance man, a polymath who distinguished himself not only in philosophy, but also in mathematics, physics, logic, and educational theory.

Whiteheadâ€™s conceptual breakthrough about a new frontier in philosophy began with his understanding of the radical revolution in science initiated by Albert Einstein and Max Planck. Quantum and relativity theory are not just steps in a different direction, but a cosmic leap into a new universe. Whitehead was among the first to realize that the new science involved a complete breakdown of the old Newtonian worldview, and thus a radical challenge for other fields of thought. Whitehead answered this challenge with a revolution of his own: process philosophy, an adventure of the mind, unsurpassed in its beauty, suggestiveness, and sublimity.

Another process superstar is Charles Hartshorne, a philosopher who has been hailed as the Einstein of religious thought and who independently came up with some of the same ideas he later found in Whitehead. Hartshorne originated electrifying new insights of his own and clarified many process ideas. It can hardly be overstated how much Hartshorne has done to strengthen the case for process philosophy.

This book is an exploration and an explication of process philosophy, both in the particularity of its fundamental ideas and in its general scope and sublimity of vision. With concision and clarity of expression as goals, every effort has been made to provide the reader with a good grasp of the â€œprocess universeâ€ and â€œuniversal processâ€ of Alfred North Whitehead, and an understanding of why I call Charles Hartshorne the Thomas Edison of philosophy.

One final thought:

The general, or popular, notion of â€œprocessâ€ goes back at least as far as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who declared that all things flow, and who came up with an saying so memorable that it has become part of our common vocabulary: you canâ€™t step into the same river twice.

From a new process perspective, Whitehead was able to upgrade the saying of Heraclitus by making a rather startling statement. He said that â€œno thinker thinks twice.â€ No thinker thinks twice. Hold that thoughtâ€”it will become clear as the book unfolds.
Country USA
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2012-09-04
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2012-09-04
Format	Kindle eBook

Process Philosophy in Five Easy Pieces

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