Whitehead's Philosophy

Trenchju

Description

This volume explores the range of Alfred North Whitehead's philosophy and his relevance to contemporary philosophical traditions. While philosophers and theologians with only a passing acquaintance with Whitehead might think that his philosophy is unconnected to our Western philosophical tradition, the contributors prove that nothing could be further from the truth. The most respected scholars in the field—George Allan, Lisa Bellantoni, John B. Cobb Jr., Frederick Ferré, David L. Hall, William S. Hamrick, Robert Cummings Neville, Janusz A. Polanowski, Patrick Shade, and Donald W. Sherburne—illustrate points of connection between Whitehead's ideas to the following: Descartes, the so-called "Father of Modern Philosophy"; classical American thought; several contemporary American thinkers, including Richard Rorty and Alasdair MacIntyre; aspects of European philosophy; and current reflections upon the environment and technology.

Purpose of This Book

Biographical Sketch of Alfred North Whitehead

PART ONE: AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY

1. Whitehead, Descartes, and Terminology
Donald W. Sherburne

PART TWO: WHITEHEAD AND CLASSICAL AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY

2. Whitehead and Pragmatism
Robert Cummings Neville

3. Whitehead and Dewey: Religion in the Making of Education
George Allan

4. Spirit and Eternity in Whitehead and Santayana
Patrick Shade

PART THREE: WHITEHEAD AND CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY

5. Whitehead, Rorty, and the Return of the Exiled Poets
David L. Hall

6. Future Ethics: MacIntyre and Whitehead on Moral Progress
Lisa Bellantoni

PART FOUR: WHITEHEAD AND EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHY

7. Whitehead and Merleau-Ponty: Healing the Bifurcation of Nature
William S. Hamrick

8. Points of Connection in Whitehead's and Nietzsche's Metaphysics
Janusz A. Polanowski

PART FIVE: WHITEHEAD ON NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY

9. Thinking with Whitehead about Nature
John B. Cobb Jr.

10. Whitehead and Technology
Frederick Ferré

Contributors

Note on Supporting Center

Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Métaphysique
• Metaphysics
• Philosophy

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791484838
• Langue: English

Extrait

Whitehead’s Philosophy

Points of Connection

Edited by Janusz A. Polanowski and Donald W. Sherburne

Whitehead’s Philosophy

SUNY series in Constructive Postmodern Thought

David Ray Griffin, editor

Whitehead’s Philosophy Points of Connection

Edited by

Janusz A. Polanowski and Donald W. Sherburne

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2004 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207

Production by Kelli Williams Marketing by Michael Campochiaro

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Whitehead’s philosophy : points of connection / edited by Janusz A. Polanowski and Donald W. Sherburne. p. cm. — (SUNY series in constructive postmodern thought) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-6137-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Whitehead, Alfred North, 1861–1947. .I. Polanowski, Janusz A. II. Sherburne, Donald W. III. Series.

B1674.W354W54 2004 192—dc22

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2004018560

In Memoriam

DAVID L. HALL died unexpectedly shortly after completing his chap- ter in this book. From the beginning he was an enthusiastic supporter of the project, offering helpful suggestions to the editors as the structure of the book unfolded. He was particularly pleased at the prospect of being united in this venture with five friends and contemporaries whose ca- reers and interests overlapped so closely with his own—George Allan, John Cobb, Fred Ferré, Bob Neville, and Don Sherburne. We reciprocate the pleasure of his company and are sorely vexed that he is unable to celebrate with us the completion of our venture together. Footnote 24 of chapter 2, authored by Bob Neville, gives a succinct over view of the contributions made by David during his long and fruit- ful career.

❘

v

❘

This page intentionally left blank.

Purpose of This Book

Contents

Biographical Sketch of Alfred North Whitehead

1

.

PART ONE AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY Whitehead, Descartes, and Terminology Donald W. Sherburne

PART TWO WHITEHEAD AND CLASSICAL AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY 2. Whitehead and Pragmatism Robert Cummings Neville 3. Whitehead and Dewey: Religion in the Making of Education George Allan 4. Spirit and Eternity in Whitehead and Santayana Patrick Shade

x

v

xix

1

4

3

9

1

61

PART THREE WHITEHEAD AND CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY 5. Whitehead, Rorty, and the Return of the Exiled Poets 83 David L. Hall 6. Future Ethics: MacIntyre and Whitehead on Moral Progress 103 Lisa Bellantoni

❘

vii

❘

viii

7

8

❘

.

.

Contents

PART FOUR WHITEHEAD AND EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHY Whitehead and Merleau-Ponty: Healing the Bifurcation of Nature William S. Hamrick Points of Connection in Whitehead’s and Nietzsche’s Metaphysics Janusz A. Polanowski

PART FIVE WHITEHEAD ON NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY 9. Thinking with Whitehead about Nature John B. Cobb Jr. 10. Whitehead and Technology Frederick Ferré

Contributors

Note on Supporting Center

Index

127

143

175

197

213

215

217

Introduction to SUNY Series in 1 Constructive Postmodern Thought

The rapid spread of the termpostmodernin recent years witnesses to a grow- ing dissatisfaction with modernity and to an increasing sense that the modern age not only had a beginning but can have an end as well. Whereas the wordmodernwas almost always used until quite recently as a word of praise and as a synonym forcontemporary,a growing sense is now evidenced that we can and should leave modernity behind—in fact, that wemustif we are to avoid destroying ourselves and most of the life on our planet. Modernity,rather than being regarded as the norm for human society toward which all histor y has been aiming and into which all societies should be ushered—forcibly if necessary—is instead increasingly seen as an aberration. A new respect for the wisdom of traditional societies is growing as we realize that they have endured for thousands of years and that, by contrast, the existence of modern civilization for even another century seems doubtful. Likewise,modernismas a worldview is less and less seen as The Final Truth, in comparison with which all divergent world- views are automatically regarded as “superstitious.” The modern worldview is increasingly relativized to the status of one among many, use- ful for some purposes, inadequate for others. Although there have been antimodern movements before, begin- ning perhaps near the outset of the nineteenth centur y with the Romanticists and the Luddites, the rapidity with which the termpost- modernhas become widespread in our time suggests that the antimodern sentiment is more extensive and intense than before, and also that it in- cludes the sense that modernity can be successfully overcome only by going beyond it, not by attempting to return to a premodern form of ex- istence. Insofar as a common element is found in the various ways in which the term is used,postmodernismrefers to a diffuse sentiment rather than to any common set of doctrines—the sentiment that humanity can and must go beyond the modern.

❘

i

x

❘