Process-Relational Philosophy: An Introduction to Alfred North Whitehead

136 Pages·2008·1.72 MB·English

by  C. Robert Mesle

process-relational philosophy

Process-Relational
@
Philosophy
an introduction to
alfred north whitehead
C.Robert Mesle
Templeton Foundation Press
west conshohocken,pennsylvania
Templeton Foundation Press
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© 2008 by C.Robert Mesle
Designed and typeset by Gopa and Templeton Foundation Press helps intellectual
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on aspects ofrealities,invisible and intangible.
All rights reserved.No part ofthis book Spiritual realities include unlimited love,accel-
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Mesle,C.Robert.
Process-relational philosophy :
Quotes from Alfred North Whitehead’s
an introduction to Alfred North
Process and Realityreprinted with the per-
Whitehead / C.Robert Mesle.
mission ofScribner,an imprint ofSimon
p.cm.
& Schuster Adult Publishing Group.
Includes bibliographical references and
Copyright © 1929 by The Macmillan
index.
Company; copyright renewed 1957 by
isbn-13: 978-1-59947-132-7 (pbk.: alk.
Evelyn Whitehead.Copyright 1978 by
paper)
Free Press, a Division of Simon and
isbn-10: 1-59947-132-9 (pbk.: alk.
Schuster.All rights reserved.
paper) 1.Process philosophy.2.Rela-
tion (Philosophy) 3.Reality.I.Title.
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
BD372.M47 2007
146'.7—dc22
08 0910 11 12 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2007017844
To Elliot,who is the becoming ofour future.May he have
a long and wonderful journey,filled with chocolate and love.

Contents
Being and Becoming: APersonal Preface ix
Chapter 1:AProcess-Relational World:
An Adventure That Matters 3
Chapter 2: Imaginative Generalization:
The Search for a Comprehensive Vision 11
Chapter 3: Minds,Bodies,and Experience:
Envisioning a Unified Self 20
Chapter 4: Experience All the Way Down:
Seeking an Imaginative Leap 31
Chapter 5: Reality as Relational Process:
Substance and Process 42
Chapter6: Reality as a Causal Web:
AConstructive Postmodernism 54
Chapter 7: Unilateral Power:
Power,Value,and Reality 65
Chapter 8: Relational Power: So What? 72
Chapter 9: Creativity,Freedom,and God:
What Makes Freedom Possible? 79
viii contents
Chapter10: Looking Ahead:
The Future ofProcess-Relational Thought 89
Appendix: Getting Technical:
Whitehead’s Language 93
Notes 111
Suggested Reading 119
Index 121
Being and Becoming
a personal preface
The secret oflife is enjoying the passing oftime.
—James Taylor
@
In the evening,we walked on the beach.The ocean waves
washed our feet in the ancient sacrament oftime.In,out.
In,out.Each distinct wave that touched us returned to
the ocean ofwhich it had always been a part.In,out.In,out.Yet,even
the ocean itselfnever remains unchanged.In,out.In,out.Separate,
rejoin.Become,perish.
Being and Becoming.Each points to something true,to something
we care about. Every great philosophy and religion must address
these fundamental categories. How shall we hold them together?
Which,ifeither,is deeper?
Shadows,wind,and clouds pass so quickly that they seem mostly
unreal.So,time and Becoming seem unreal to us.Rocks,iron,and
mountains suggest unchanging reality—Being. We can count on
them to last,to be there tomorrow and next year.More importantly,
we don’t want to die,and we know that change brings death.Only in
changeless eternity can we hope to escape our mortality.
Plato gave priority to Being partly because he loved ideas.For him
and so many others,the truths ofmathematics provided the paradigm
ofreality.Circleness,squareness,and 2+ 2= 4are timeless.They do
not rust or wither,wear down,or fade away.You can count on them
to never,ever,change—not even a little.They do not become or per-
ish; they just are.Alfred North Whitehead was a mathematician and
shared much ofPlato’s desire to incorporate Being into his vision of