Abstract Die moderne Physik besteht nicht nur aus neuen Entdeckungen und Erfindungen durch die Relativitätstheorie und durch die Quantenphysik. Sie besteht auch aus völlig neuen Sichtweisen und flexiblen Denkweisen von Zusammenhängen und Verschränkungen zwischen den Dingen. Die moderne Physik hat sich von dem Klischee des Schwarz-Weiß-Denkens verabschiedet, für das es nur getrennte Dinge, ohne fließende Übergänge gibt. Solche unbeweglichen, dogmatischen schwarzweißen Denkweisen können wir zurückverfolgen bis zu dem griechischen Philosophen Aristoteles. In der Zeit der Klassischen Mechanik hatten sie einen überwältigenden (...) Erfolg. Galilei behauptete, das Buch der Natur sei in der Sprache der Mathematik geschrieben. Das war die sehr kurzgefasste Formulierung der Klassischen Mechanik. Die moderne Physik hat sich keineswegs von der Mathematik verabschiedet, ganz und gar nicht. Doch der heilige Ernst und der starre und absolute Dogmatismus hat nachgelassen. Moderne Denkweisen in der Physik können mit den Begriffen von fließenden Übergängen, von Zwischenstufen, von Zusammenhängen zwischen den Dingen und von Schwingungen gekennzeichnet werden. Seit Faraday und Maxwell hat sich eine Verschiebung der Untersuchungsobjekte ergeben: Seit der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts, seit ca 1850, drehen sich die Denkmodelle der modernen Physik nicht mehr um getrennte, isolierten Körper, die im Nichts schwimmen, sondern um die Zwischenräume zwischen den Körpern und um die flexiblen Beziehungsgeflechte zwischen den Dingen und um die Netzwerke, die die Dinge umgeben. Das sind ganz neue physikalische Denkweisen, die durchaus Dunkelzonen und Zweifel und Ungewissheiten kennen, die den Bereich der Exaktheit überschatten. Neue Beiträge der physikalischen Denkweisen sind auch durch eine Flexibilität bei der Bildung von Begriffen gekennzeichnet. Sie lassen sich nicht auf einige wenige Begriffe oder auf eine starre und exakte Festlegung der Wortwahl festnageln. -/- „Jede Philosophie bezieht ihre Farbe von der geheimen Lichtquelle eines Vorstellungshintergrunds, der niemals ausdrücklich in ihrenGedankenketten auftaucht“ (Whitehead) (1) . (shrink)

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. (shrink)

When The Concept of Nature by Alfred North Whitehead was first published in 1920 it was declared to be one of the most important works on the relation between philosophy and science for many years, and several generations later it continues to deserve careful attention. Whitehead explores the fundamental problems of substance, space and time, and offers a criticism of Einstein's method of interpreting results while developing his own well-known theory of the four-dimensional 'space-time manifold'. With a specially commissioned new (...) preface written by Michael Hampe, this book is presented in a fresh series livery for the twenty-first century for a new generation of readers. (shrink)

In addition to his brilliant achievements in theoretical mathematics, Alfred North Whitehead exercised an extensive knowledge of philosophy and literature that informs and elevates all of his works. In this book, he offers undergraduate students and other readers an absorbing exploration of the fundamental problems of substance, space, and time. The Concept of Nature originated with Whitehead's Tarner Lectures of 1919, and its discussions are highlighted by a criticism of Einstein's method of interpreting results, and by the author's alternative development (...) of the celebrated theory of the four-dimensional space-time manifold. 1920 ed. (shrink)

Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) was a prominent English mathematician and philosopher who co-authored the highly influential Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell. Originally published in 1922, this book forms the follow-up volume to "The Principles of Natural Knowledge" (1919) and "The Concept of Nature" (1920). In it, Whitehead puts forward an alternative theory of relativity, one which goes against the heterogeneity of Einstein's later theories in deducing that 'our experience requires and exhibits a basis in uniformity'. The text is divided into (...) three parts - 'General Principles', 'Physical Applications', and 'Elementary Theory of Tensors' - and exhibits a characteristically ambitious approach in mixing various academic disciplines. This is a fascinating book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in natural science, physics, and philosophy, together with the history of science. (shrink)

Albert Einstein ist für seine Arbeiten in der Physik weltberühmt. Nur wenige wissen jedoch, dass Einstein selbst auch philosophische Arbeiten publiziert hat und seine Erkenntnisse weitreichende Folgen für die Philosophie haben. Oder haben „Raum“ und „Zeit“ nichts mit Wissen zu tun?

ZusammenfassungEs wird die wechselseitige Beeinflussung Einsteins und Schlicks anhand ihrer ab 1915 erhaltenen Korrespondenz in vier Schwerpunkten untersucht. Schlicks Selbstverständnis als Philosoph wie auch einzelne Themata seines Denkens (wie etwa das der Einfachheit) bildeten sich mit seiner Auseinandersetzung um die Relativitätstheorie Einsteins heraus, deren systematische Explikation durch Schlick auf Einsteins Beifall stieß. Als die Ursache für das Auseinanderdriften beider Denker nach 1925 werden fundamentale Differenzen im Wirklichkeitsverständnis und in der Interpretation des Kausalitätsprinzips aufgewiesen, die beide auch zu komplementären Formen der (...) Wissenschaftsgeschichtsbetrachtung führten. (shrink)

Time’s arrow is necessary for progress from a past that has already happened to a future that is only potential until creatively determined in the present. But time’s arrow is unnecessary in Einstein’s so-called block universe, so there is no creative unfolding in an actual present. How can there be an actual present when there is no universal moment of simultaneity? Events in various places will have different presents according to the position, velocity, and nature of the perceiver. Standing against (...) this view is traditional common sense since we normally experience time’s arrow as reality and the present as our place in the stream of consciousness, but we err to imagine we are living in the actual present. The present of our daily experience is actually a specious present, according to E. Robert Kelly (later popularized by William James), or duration, according to Henri Bergson, an habitus, as elucidated by Kerby (1991), or, simply, the psychological present (Adams, 2010) – all terms indicating that our experienced present so consists of the past overlapping into the future that any potential for acting from the creative moment is crowded out. Yet, for philosophers of process from Herakleitos onward, it is the philosophies of change or process that treat time’s arrow and the creative fire of the actual present as realities. In this essay, I examine the most well known but possibly least understood process cosmology of Alfred North Whitehead to seek out this elusive but actual present. In doing so, I will also ask if process philosophy is itself an example of the creative imagination and if this relates to doing science. I conclude Whitehead's process philosophy falls short of allowing for the actual creative spontaneity of a dynamic (eternal) present. (shrink)

Whitehead was critical with respect to Poincaré’s conventionalism. However, Whitehead stood closer to Poincaré than Bertrand Russell when Russell invoked Poincaré’s conventionalism to highlight that the choice between Arthur Eddington’s orthodox interpretation of Einstein’s general theory of relativity on the one hand, and Whitehead’s alternative interpretation on the other, is not a matter of empirical fact, but a matter of convention. Whitehead shared two of the premises of Poincaré’s conventionalism: the physics-independence of geometry, and the choice of a physical geometry (...) amongst geometries of constant curvature. This contributed significantly to his philosophical critique of Einstein, who held that the geometry of space-time depends on the physical distribution of matter, and that the non-homogeneity of this distribution (e.g., at the scale of the solar system) implies that the appropriate physical geometry is variably curved. Russell’s conventionalism, contrary to Whitehead’s view, did not take Poincaré’s premises into account, was shared by the logical positivists, and led to a philosophical defense of Einstein. (shrink)

This article addresses both philosophers of science and process philosophers. It shows that the acceptance of Einstein's general theory of relativity by British physicists in the early 1920s, and their rejection of Whitehead's experimentally indistinguishable theory of gravity, was a matter not only of empirical evaluation but also of aesthetic preference. To philosophers of science it offers a historical case study illustrating the entangled roles of empirical and aesthetic criteria in theory evaluation. To process philosophers it offers an answer to (...) the question of why Whitehead's alternative rendering of Einstein's general relativity has been neglected both by the majority of physicists, and by the majority of philosophers. (shrink)

Als sich die Denkschulen der anglo-amerikanischen Philosophie des 20. Jahrhunderts formierten, wurden Whitehead und Russell zu Symbolfiguren der spekulativen Denkrichtung auf der einen und der analytischen Ansätze auf der anderen Seite. Der eine beschäftigte sich mit der Konstruktion einer umfassenden Metaphysik; der andere betonte das Streben nach begrifflicher Klarheit mit den Mitteln präziser logischer und linguistischer Analyse. Die antithetische Beziehung dieser beiden widerstreitenden Parteien ist allerdings weniger offensichtlich, wenn wir die Ziele in den Blick nehmen, die Whitehead und Russell (...) teilten, unmittelbar nachdem sie in ihrem Monumentalwerk Principia Mathematica an den Grundlagen der Mathematik zusammengearbeitet hatten. Beide waren nun mit einem anderen grundlegenden Projekt der Philosophie der Physik befasst. Whitehead und Russell entwickelten, als offensichtlichste Konsequenz aus den revolutionären Fortschritten der modernen Physik, jeder für sich eine Ereignisontologie, doch waren sie unterschiedlicher Ansicht darüber, wie diese Ontologie als metaphysische Grundlage der Physik zu interpretieren sei. Das Ziel meines Essays ist es daher, die Affinitäten und Gegensätze in Whiteheads und Russells Ansichten darüber herauszuarbeiten, wie das ausgedehnte Universum, bestehend aus Materie und „leerem“ Raum, als eine Mannigfaltigkeit von Ereignissen zu denken sei. Ich zeige außerdem, wie viel von Russells Metaphysik von Whiteheads früher Arbeit beeinflusst war. Während Russell selbst diesen Einfluss großzügig anerkannte, wird er von Kommentatoren seiner Philosophie selten zur Kenntnis genommen. (shrink)

This chapter of Victor Lowe's Alfred North Whitehead: The Man and His Work, Volume II: 1910-1947 covers the development of Whitehead's philosophy of physics while he was Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Imperial College, London. Under the influence of Einstein's theory of relativity, Whitehead developed a theory of extension that explained the basis of the space-time manifold in terms of an ontology of events. Pan-physics was his term for the unification of the natural sciences as one general science.

Dieses Buch soll ein Bericht über den Prozess Einstein sein. Es enthält das Material über die Diskussion um die Relativitätstheorie in der UdSSR seit 1950. Von 1951 bis 1955 wurde Einstein durch die offizielle Parteiphilosophie der UdSSR in den Anklagezustand versetzt. Der Prozess gipfelte in der Aufforderung, die Relativitätstheorie zu verwerfen und durch eine materialistische 'Theorie schneller Bewegungen' zu ersetzen. Selbst der Name 'Relativitätstheorie' sollte aus den physikalischen Lehrbüchern verschwinden. Die Anklage wurde vertreten von der ideologischen Führungsschicht der gewaltigsten irdischen (...) Macht unseres Zeitalters. Der Angeklagte, in der Reife seines Lebens vor die vehementesten Angriffe gestellt, kam nur durch sein Werk zu Wort. Dies genügte jedoch, dass sich unter den sowjetischen Physikern und Philosophen noch zur Zeit Stalins mannhafte Stimmen der Verteidigung fanden. 1955 wurde der Prozess mit der offiziellen Anerkennung der Relativitäts theorie durch die Parteiphilosophie abgeschlossen. Es war ein Sieg der Wahrheit über die Gewalt. Die Folgen mussten das Ansehen der kommunistischen Ideologie erschüttern. Es hatte sich herausgestellt, dass zwischen der angeblich einzig wissenschaftlichen Philosophie und der exaktesten Naturwissen schaft, der Physik, ein Abgrund klafft, den zu überbrücken die Sowjet philosophie bis heute bemüht ist. Andererseits begannen die sowjetischen Physiker, wachgerufen durch die Appelle der Philosophen, ihr eigenes Weltbild mit adäquaten Methoden zu durchdenken. Diese ganze Ent wicklung ist von hohem Wert für eine Diagnose der geistigen Struktur der Sowjetgesellschaft. (shrink)

Stolz's primary concern is to interject Whitehead's thought into the contemporary scientific situation. He holds that Whitehead's development primarily proceeds out the scientific discussion of his time and only secondarily from the current philosophical discussion. He believes that the scientific community will be more open to this foundational reflection, so he has concentrated on the earlier material.

In 1922 in The Principle of Relativity, Whitehead presented an alternative theory of gravitation in response to Einstein’s general relativity. To the latter, he objected on philosophical grounds—specifically, that Einstein’s notion of a variable spacetime geometry contingent on the presence of matter (a) confounds theories of measurement, and, more generally, (b) is unacceptable within the bounds of a reasonable epistemology. Whitehead offered instead a theory based within a comprehensive philosophy of nature. The formulal Whitehead adopted for the gravitational field has (...) been described as involving both the flat metric nu, of Minkowski spacetime and a dynamic metric gu, dependent on the presence of source masses. The ontological relationship between the two must be fleshed out in the context of Whitehead’s philosophy of nature. The relationship is of some importance, not only in casting Whitehead’s theory within its proper metaphysical context vis-d—vis Einstein, but also in judging how the theory has faired empirically with respect to general relativity (GR hereafter). It makes the same predictions as GR with respect to the perihelion advance, the deflection of light rays and the gravitational red-shift; indeed, Eddington (1924) has shown that it is equivalent to the Schwarzschild solution of Einstein’s held equations for the one-body problem. However, it also appears to predict an anisotropy in the locally measured gravitational constant y that is in conflict.. (shrink)

Karl Popper hat sich in vielen Schriften immer wieder mit der Quantenmechanik auseinandergesetzt. Eine Reihe dieser Arbeiten sind in physikalischen Zeitschriften erschienen und viele Physiker nahmen darauf Bezug. Selbst wenn Popper Experimente vorschlug, ging es ihm aber nicht um die Weiterentwicklung der Physik, sondern um die Interpretation der Quantentheorie, d. h. um methodologische, erkenntnistheoretische und metaphysische Fragen, die durch sie aufgeworfen werden.Über solche Interpretationsfragen gab es von Anfang an unterschiedliche Auffassungen, die vor allem durch die sog. Bohr-Einstein-Debatte bekannt geworden sind. (...) In dieser Auseinandersetzung hat sich Karl Popper mit seiner erkenntnistheoretischen Kritik an der Kopenhagener Interpretation auf die Seite Einsteins gestellt, eine Teilcheninterpretation der Quantenobjekte favorisiert und in diesem Zusammenhang seine Propensitätsinterpretation der Wahrscheinlichkeit entwickelt.Der Beitrag diskutiert Poppers Ideen zur Quantentheorie, vor allem die, die mit Einsteins Themen zu tun haben. Ausgespart bleiben Poppers Überlegungen zur Quantenlogik und zur Nicht-Lokalität der Quantentheorie, wie sie bei verschränkten Zuständen sichtbar wird. Er untersucht die philosophischen Motive für Poppers Kritik an der damaligen Standardauffassung und die Bedeutung, die Albert Einstein für die Entwicklung von Poppers eigener Position hatte. In einem weiteren Schritt wird skizziert, wie Poppers Vorschläge aus der Sicht der gegenwärtigen Philosophie der Physik bewertet werden. Dabei zeigt sich, dass Poppers spezielle physikalische Vorschläge zur Quantenmechanik und ihrer Interpretation heute eher kritisch gesehen werden, seine philosophischen Motive dagegen in neueren Entwicklungen der Interpretationsdebatte weitgehend erfüllt worden sind, wenn auch auf anderen Wegen als er dachte. (shrink)

A. N. Whitehead's approach to physical theorizing contrasts with that of mainstream or official physics in being centrally concerned with articulating a background explanation of physical facts and phenomena in general that would take the place of the “ether” of classical physics, a project otherwise unpursued by the science in its modern period. Unlike Einstein's, Whitehead's approach to relativity primarily seeks explanation rather than utility ; also, it avoids the philosophical problems with Einstein's theory alleged by Whitehead and a range (...) of other philosophers. This stops short of a finding as to the comparative worth of Whitehead's alternative basis for quantitative formulations. (shrink)

The aim of the first part of this article is to highlight some of the historical roots of the affinities of Whitehead's philosophy with Gestalt psychology by identifying a number of physicists as well as philosopher-psychologists playing a relevant role in both the genesis of Whitehead's thought and that of Gestalt psychology. The article goes beyond identifying Faraday and Maxwell as well as James andBergson as relevant in this respect It also focuses on others who have influenced Whitehead: Lorentz as (...) well as Lotze and Brentano, Ward and Stout The aim of the second part of this article is to introduce three of Whitehead's key ideas by means of a number of simple Gestalt experiments: his idea of what mathematics is all about, his idea of what is wrong with Einstein's interpretation of special and general relativity, and his idea of the role of recognition in the subjective form of feeling. (shrink)

Philipp W. Balsiger / Rudolf Kötter Die Kultur moderner Wissenschaft am Beispiel Albert Einstein Für alle, die über den Tellerrand der Physik EInsteins blicken wollen Albert Einstein ist ein wissenschaftshistorisches Musterbeispiel dafür, wie wissenschaftliche Kulturleistungen bei der Entwicklung neuer Theorien, in persönlichen Netzwerken und im Zusammenhand mit philosophischem Denken entstehen. Dieses Buch enthält Beiträge von Physikern, Philosophen und Wissenschaftshistorikern, die überraschend vielseitigen Facetten der physikalischen Kultur am Beispiel Albert Einsteins zusammentragen: von den Paradigmenwechseln des Raum- Zeitverständnisses über die Philosophie (...) in der Physik bis hin zur Bildungs- und Popularisierungskultur, die mit seinem Wirken verbunden ist. (shrink)

This article addresses both philosophers of science and process philosophers. It shows that the acceptance of Einstein's general theory of relativity by British physicists in the early 1920s, and their rejection of Whitehead's experimentally indistinguishable theory of gravity, was a matter not only of empirical evaluation but also of aesthetic preference. To philosophers of science it offers a historical case study illustrating the entangled roles of empirical and aesthetic criteria in theory evaluation. To process philosophers it offers an answer to (...) the question of why Whitehead's alternative rendering of Einstein's general relativity has been neglected both by the majority of physicists, and by the majority of philosophers. (shrink)

Excerpt from Raum und Zeit in der Gegenwartigen Physik: Zur Einfuhrung in das Verstandnis der Relativitats-und Gravitationstheorie Die in dieser Schrift behandelte physikalische Theorie hat seit dem Erscheinen der zweiten Auflage eine wahr haft glanzende Bestatigung durch astronomische Beobach tungen gefunden (vergl. S. Sie hat dadurch die all gemeine Aufmerksamkeit in hohem Mae auf sich gelenkt und den Ruhm ihres Schopfers Einstein in noch hellerem Glanze erstrahlen lassen. So wird die grundlegende Be deutung der Relativitatstheorie fur unsere gesamte Natur auffassung (...) immer mehr von allen Seiten anerkannt, und es ist kein Zweifel, da sie binnen kurzem als Allgemeingut menschlich-wissenschaftlicher Weltanschauung gelten wird. Freilich, die Zahl derer, die diese erstaunliche Schopfung genialer Geisteskraft bewundern, ist weit schneller ge wachsen als die Zahl derer, die sie wirklich restlos ver stehen, und so hat sich das Bedurfnis nach aufklarenden Darstellungen der Grundlagen der Theorie nicht vermindert, sondern ist im Gegenteil im Steigen begriffen. Das zeigt sich auch darin, da die zweite Ausgabe dieser Schrift trotz hoherer Auflageziffer noch schneller erschopft war als die erste. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)

This concise book introduces nonphysicists to the core philosophical issues surrounding the nature and structure of space and time, and is also an ideal resource for physicists interested in the conceptual foundations of space-time theory. Tim Maudlin's broad historical overview examines Aristotelian and Newtonian accounts of space and time, and traces how Galileo's conceptions of relativity and space-time led to Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Maudlin explains special relativity using a geometrical approach, emphasizing intrinsic space-time structure rather than (...) coordinate systems or reference frames. He gives readers enough detail about special relativity to solve concrete physical problems while presenting general relativity in a more qualitative way, with an informative discussion of the geometrization of gravity, the bending of light, and black holes. Additional topics include the Twins Paradox, the physical aspects of the Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction, the constancy of the speed of light, time travel, the direction of time, and more.Introduces nonphysicists to the philosophical foundations of space-time theory Provides a broad historical overview, from Aristotle to Einstein Explains special relativity geometrically, emphasizing the intrinsic structure of space-time Covers the Twins Paradox, Galilean relativity, time travel, and more Requires only basic algebra and no formal knowledge of physics. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Subjectivity Space‐Time Valuation.

The movement known as Deutsche Physik (German physics) evolved hand in hand with National Socialism. It represented a marginal but vocal group of German scientists and science scholars who profiled themselves as defenders of “Aryan” science and called for the elimination of the “Jewish spirit” that they saw as epitomized by Albert Einstein’s relativity theory and as dominating the natural sciences, even in Nazi Germany. This infamous movement is most associated with the Nobel laureate physicists Philipp Lenard and Johannes Stark, (...) who founded it and gave it its initial political impetus during the early years of the Third Reich. However, in its main and final phase, between 1937 and 1943, the movement was no longer led by Lenard and Stark but by the philosopher of science Hugo Dingler (1881–1954) and his Munich-based circle. Tracing the development of his career until 1937, this article examines how Dingler came to play this role both despite and because of the significant differences between his and the better known Lenard-Stark strand of Deutsche Physik. Special attention is paid to Dingler’s subversive use of theoretical principles—particularly his framing of his work as a radical search for certainty—to advance the movement’s antiscientific agenda. (shrink)

Chapter One WHAT IS RELIGION?. Edgar S. Brightman 7. Alfred North Whitehead X. William Ernest Hocking 8. Albert Einstein 5. William James 9. ...

Recent developments both in science and philosophy are tending to converge upon an outlook on things that constitutes or at least foreshadows a great new synthesis. The advances made more especially in astronomical and physical knowledge—the one concerning the indefinitely vast and the other the indefinitely minute—and the similarities disclosed in the two spheres, recalling Pascal’s insistent relating of the two infinites, and also Bacon’s contention that such similarities are not mere analogies but “the same footsteps of nature treading or (...) printing upon several subjects or matters,” 1 have both widened and unified our conceptions of reality. Along with this has gone the influence alike on philosophy and on the sciences generally of the development of mathematical and biological ideas. Under the combined influence, especially, of Bergson and Einstein a restatement of fundamental principles is proceeding apace. (shrink)

Recent developments both in science and philosophy are tending to converge upon an outlook on things that constitutes or at least foreshadows a great new synthesis. The advances made more especially in astronomical and physical knowledge—the one concerning the indefinitely vast and the other the indefinitely minute—and the similarities disclosed in the two spheres, recalling Pascal’s insistent relating of the two infinites, and also Bacon’s contention that such similarities are not mere analogies but “the same footsteps of nature treading or (...) printing upon several subjects or matters,” 1 have both widened and unified our conceptions of reality. Along with this has gone the influence alike on philosophy and on the sciences generally of the development of mathematical and biological ideas. Under the combined influence, especially, of Bergson and Einstein a restatement of fundamental principles is proceeding apace. (shrink)

Philospher, mathematician, and general man of science, Alfred North Whitehead was a polymath whose interests and generous sympathies encompassed entire worlds.

Beginning in September of 1924, Alfred North Whitehead presented a regular course of 85 lectures which concluded in May of 1925. These represent the first ever philosophy lectures he gave and capture him working out the philosophical implications of the remarkable turns physics had taken in his lifetime. This volume finally recreates these lectures by transcribing notes by W.P. Bell, W.E. Hocking and Louise Heath taken at the time - many of which have only recently been discovered and including hundreds (...) of sketches of Whitehead's blackboard diagrams. This is a unique insight into the evolution of Whitehead's thought during the months when he was drafting his seminal work, Science and the Modern World. (shrink)

The first three chapters are personal history, highly picturesque and amusing, illumined by flashes of his lively humor....From here the chapters go on into Philosophy, Education, and Science. covering a span of thrity years though these writings do, they are surprizingly unified. Atlantic.

Process and Reality, Whitehead’s magnum opus, is one of the major philosophical works of the modern world, and an extensive body of secondary literature has developed around it. Yet surely no significant philosophical book has appeared in the last two centuries in nearly so deplorable a condition as has this one, with its many hundreds of errors and with over three hundred discrepancies between the American and the English editions, which appeared in different formats with divergent paginations. The work itself (...) is highly technical and far from easy to understand, and in many passages the errors in those editions were such as to compound the difficulties. The need for a corrected edition has been keenly felt for many decades. (shrink)

Whitehead's magnum opus is as important as it is difficult. It is the only work in which his metaphysical ideas are stated systematically and completely, and his metaphysics are the heart of his philosophical system as a whole. Sherburne has rearranged the text in a way designed to lead the student logically and coherently through the intricacies of the system without losing the vigor of Whitehead's often brilliant prose. "The Key renders Process and Reality pedagogically accessible for the first time."-- (...) Journal of Religion. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be (...) preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

A key consideration in the selection of these eight titles was the scarcity of the original editions - most have never been reprinted and should therefore supplement existing library holdings of 17th and 18th century British thought. The only title published more recently, Luce's definitive biography of Berkeley, was selected because of its exceptional importance for modern scholarship - here it is included with a new introduction by David Berman.

History of the human race from the point of view of mankind's changing ideas--sociological, cosmological, philosophica.