Replies

Bruce, very glad to have you in our course and I hope it proves helpful given your interests. I also read Cobb’s Structure of Christian Existence early on…very impactful! Thanks for your good work at IPDC! I watched your interview in China some weeks ago. Keep up the good work.

Cheers,

Dr. Davis

Bill, a brilliant introduction and fascinating background you bring to our course! Welcome, indeed. I’m very glad you are enjoying my book–which is “anthropo-something” in and of itself! I’m sorry you won’t make it to our live sessions, but recordings will be posted a day or two after. I look forward to your contributions here in the discussion forum.

Cheers,

Dr. Davis

Excellent! I remember reading Abram’s “Spell” which had me, well, spellbound. See his more recent text below, also excellent.

Cheers,

Dr. Davis

Olivia, excellent. Thanks for sharing your work and welcome to the course. Glad to hear you attended the Napa event (We may have met there?). Whatever the case, I trust this course will give you some insight to work with and apply to your preaching and living. See below a recent text on process preaching that you may find relevant.

P.S. Cats always welcome…

Dr. Davis

Jeremy, great to have in our course. Let’s keep your fascination with application front and center as we navigate some of the “theory” in the coming weeks. We will get to some implications for application when we draw the course to a close.

Cheers,

Dr. Davis

Keven, wonderful and welcome.

I’m glad to hear you have some background in Whitehead. Let’s add to this in the coming weeks, both the knowledge and the hope! Looking forward to your contributions.

Cheers.

Dr. Davis

Tony,

Welcome, indeed! Your background has positioned you very nicely to benefit from the various insights of Whitehead’s philosophy/theology and process thought more generally. Tripp is a close friend. Looking forward to your contributions.

Cheers,
Dr. Davis

Dennis,

Welcome to the course! I’m glad you enjoyed McDaniel’s class. In this course, we aim to build up his foundation and also take things deeper. You say: “I am used to reductionistic scientific methodologies. The study of metaphysics requires a different type/style of thinking.” You are right, especially with respect to how Whitehead conceives the metaphysical endeavor. Reductionism holds a truth, but not the whole truth. Whitehead’s early 1925 book “Science and the Modern World” is a constructive rejection of the reductionist materialist ethos of modern philosophy and science.
Looking forward to your contributions.
Cheers

Dr. Davis

Doug, glad to have you in our course and looking forward to your contributions!

Dr. Davis

Eric, welcome to the course!

I hope you will find our time together useful with respect to several of the points you mentioned, including your interest in developing a personal process psychology (and even those pesky debates between process philosophers). You will know that Whitehead taught in the shadow of William James at Harvard and greatly admired him as an “adorable genius.” See Roy’s book below as a potential resource for you:

Looking forward,

Dr. Davis

[Andrew Davis]

Dear Douglas,

Welcome to the course! Your background will offer you some keen insight into our material over the next several weeks. Yes, Whitehead was clearly influenced by the revolution in physics, but not just physics. He also looked to developmental biology, physiology, and psychology–all of which required a rethinking of our dominate philosophical foundations. He admired Bergson much and also Einstein. He even wrote an alternative to Einstein’s theory of relativity, not objecting to relativity as such, but only to the narrow philosophical shackles Einstein employed. He and Bergson would agree that time is “deep” as opposed to “flat,” an ontological and not merely psychological phenomenon.

You may know that great work has (and is) being done on Whitehead and quantum physics. Happy to suggest some resources.

Looking forward to your contributions,

Dr. Davis

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by Andrew Davis.

Thom,

Welcome to the course! You may know that Whitehead was nurtured in the Anglican persuasion in his youth, his father being a minister (see “Autobiographical Notes”). As for your interest in the intersections between process and non-Christian religious thought, I think our course will give you a variety resources to consider. Looking forward to you contributions.

Cheers,

Dr. Davis

Jace,

A great post! Have you explored the work of Timothy Eastman and Michael Epperson? Both argue for the reality of “potentai” or possibility as essential to a “relational” approach to the findings of quantum physics. Links below:

Eastman, Untying the Gordian Knot
Epperson, Foundations of Relational Realism
Epperson, Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead
Cheers,

Dr. Davis

Jace,

A great post! Have you explored the work of Timothy Eastman and Michael Epperson? Both argue for the reality of “potentai” or possibility as essential to a “relational” approach to the findings of quantum physics. Links below:

Cheers,

Dr. Davis

Jace,

Great post applying Whiteheadian insights to the quantum world. A rich argument for the reality of “potentia” or possibility in light of quantum physics has recently been offered by Timothy Eastman in ways you would appreciate. See his book Untying the Gordian Knot. The work of Michael Epperson and the “relational” model of quantum mechanics is also a great resource in light of your post. Links below:

Cheers,

Dr. Davis