Replies

Looks like my slideshow was too big a file to upload! Here’s a compressed version in PDF format.

Cheers,

B

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

Hey Rolla,

I’m late to the forum this week, but I seriously appreciated your question as to how members of the process community might work to translate Whitehead’s ideas in more accessible language. Your point reminded me of an interesting blog post by the philosopher Grant Maxwell which hinges on a similar question (does philosophical language have to be difficult?).

Does Philosophical Language Have to Be Difficult?

Like Whitehead, Deleuze, and other constructively minded thinkers, Maxwell argues that the purpose of philosophy is to evolve language by “[finding] words for novel ideas that have not yet been expressed in a robust or coherent way”. I found his take to be quite balanced. On the one hand, novel terminology is necessary in the effort to push language forward as it allows the philosopher to condense disparate concepts that “initially required whole volumes to be explicated.” On the other, he stresses the importance of striving for clarity and precision in one’s own communication, a process that can be enriched by situating one’s work in meaningful dialogue with the problems relevant to their own culture.

All this to say, I agree with Doug’s point that while difficult language is productive in the world of process thought, carrying out acts of “interdisciplinary weaving” can help this community to expand beyond its current niche.

As always, thanks for the food for thought!

Ben

Hey Te,a,

Thanks for this post!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend our Week 4 session live, but I also appreciated how Matt encouraged us to pay attention to the immediacy of our sensory experience. As you say, this is a great way of bringing the “academic mind” into balance with bodily feeling.

As for your comment, I appreciate how you brought up the ways in which dualistic modes of thought have historically exerted conquest and control of the “feminine principle”. I recently read a great book by the process theologian Carol P. Christ called She Who Changes: Re-Imagining the Divine in the World (2003). It provides an engaging critique of how many of the dualistic metaphysical ideas that characterize classical western thought “begin with thinly disguised rejections of the female body and connection to the natural world”. This blog post by the author gives the gist of the book in a few paragraphs, you may find it interesting!

SHE WHO CHANGES* by Carol P. Christ

Though I don’t believe Whitehead was a consciously feminist thinker, I have found his ideas to be particularly helpful in understanding the gendered dimensions of our theoretical constructions.

Cheers,

Ben

Hi Mark and Rolla,

I enjoyed reading both of your comments!

Firstly Rolla, I share in your intuition that there is a causal link between paradigms that bifurcate nature and the current social and ecological crisis. I also hope that a more widespread adoption of panpsychism will help to counteract the most destructive processes we are faced with.

I also resonated with what you said Mark. It is difficult to see how the adoption of an intellectual idea (even one as interesting as panpsychism) could cause anything more than a minor cooling of the molten pool of war, nuclear proliferation, animal exploitation (the list goes on!) that we are swimming in. I like how you traced certain aspects of the global polycrisis to essentialism and the “modern move toward the independent individual”.

Thinking of your posts side-by-side got me wondering if there exists some kind of democratic and accessible praxis that could help people to deepen their awareness of both panpsychism and non-essentialism. To be genuinely effective, this praxis would need to function on a collective scale, be easily accessible, and work at a sufficient speed to counteract the destructive tipping-points that our species has already crossed.

While following this train of thought, I was reminded of a point that the countercultural philosopher Terence McKenna used to make in his public talks and seminars (I’m paraphrasing here). “The intersecting crises of our materialistic age are the result of a deadening of feeling and a restriction of consciousness to the isolated ego. If we could begin to feel the collective gravity of our actions–not intellectually but as a direct, immediate experience–we would stop what we are doing immediately.”

McKenna of course, famously argued that psychedelic plants and molecules (which early researchers simply referred to as “consciousness expanding” drugs) were a prime candidate for this collective project of awakening to the gravity of our situation. Most important for McKenna was the fact that the psychedelic experience can provide us with a visceral, immediate, and “supramental” experience of the natural world as it exists outside of our egoistic reducing valve.

While I do not advocate for psychedelics with the same messianic fervor as McKenna, my personal experiences in this domain have functioned as a powerful catalyst, inspiring me to investigate both panpsychism and philosophies and practices premised on non-essentialism (for example, The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali and the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Vajrayāna Buddhism). I’m wondering if anyone in this class has had a similar experience?

Here in Canada (especially British Columbia), there has been a marked resurgence of interdisciplinary interest in the psychedelic experience, inspired in no small part by grassroots activism carried out by dedicated psychonauts called to action by the intensity of their experiences. I have not kept up with the latest scientific research in this area but do recall reading a relevant study conducted at Imperial College London. The research team “presented evidence for a context- and state-dependent causal effect of psychedelic use on nature relatedness”, which they defined as “one’s level of self-identification and subjective sense of connectedness with nature.” Here’s a link to the study for anyone interested. 🙂

Kettner, Hannes, Sam Gandy, Eline C. H. M. Haijen, and Robin L. Carhart-Harris. 2019. “From Egoism to Ecoism: Psychedelics Increase Nature Relatedness in a State-Mediated and Context-Dependent Manner” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 24: 5147. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16245147

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

Got it! Thanks for the response Matt. 🙂

Hi Doug,

Thanks for creating this thread!

While I don’t know much about Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, I’d be very interested in reading your final paper if you choose to write on the subject. From what I understand, these theorems deal with the paradoxes created by self-referential classes and the implications that these have for the development of consistent logical systems.

Something that stood out to me while reading Whitehead’s first Harvard lecture was his discussion of the “exaggerated emphasis” that modern philosophy places on the logic of classification:

“Classification directs attention to an entity in isolation. This entity is cross-examined as to its predicates, which are its own peculiar property, and is then assigned to its proper genus and species. Thus the procedure of classification ignores the primary consideration of togetherness.” (2019, p. 173)

As an academic librarian, I am confronted by the limitations of classificatory thinking quite often in my daily work. Many of the systems that libraries use to organize information grew out of the same principles of Aristotelian logic that Whitehead critiques. For example, The Library of Congress classification system is based on Aristotle’s traditional syllogistic form and organizes material into a hierarchical series of classes and subclasses. While this method of classification works well for organizing books on a shelf, it makes it difficult to amend the foundational classes in a subject area when the concepts and/or terminology used within that field evolve.

With the growing popularity of electronic resources, we are less limited by the constraints of physical space. This has facilitated the development of more emergent and intuitive classification techniques (for example, allowing communities of users to generate their own personalized subject tags that can be integrated into electronic library records as searchable metadata). Still, I’d be interested in knowing if Gödel’s work on mathematical logic when combined with Whitehead’s categorical scheme could help to develop a classificatory system for physical resources that has “open-endedness” built in to its foundation.

Thanks for the food for thought and good luck on the paper!

Ben

Hi Thom,

Thanks for creating this thread!

I also enjoyed the conversation about life after death that we had in class this week. The Keith Ward video you posted provides an interesting perspective on these questions. I appreciated him mentioning that while there is a substantial body of evidence for life after death, it is wise to sift through this data with a fine-tooth comb.

I have recently been studying the work of the late Dr. Eric. M. Weiss, a process philosopher who taught graduate courses at the California Institute of Integral Studies. In 2012, Weiss published a book called The Long Trajectory: The Metaphysics of Reincarnation and Life after Death. In this work, Weiss synthesizes the metaphysical ideas of Alfred North Whitehead and Sri Aurobindo to develop a theory of space, time, matter, energy, and consciousness that he calls transphysical process metaphysics. A key goal of this project was providing a coherent explanation for the survival of the personality beyond death and the possibility of reincarnation. Here’s a link to the book:

He also posted a great video series to YouTube that summarizes key themes:

I believe that Weiss carried out his research in affiliation with the Survival Seminar organized by Esalen’s Center for Theory & Research (CRT).

This group has published three great books that may be of interest to folks in this thread. The first one Irreducible Mind (2007) compiles much of the peer-reviewed evidence for reincarnation, personality survival, and life after death. The others, Beyond Physicalism (2015) and Consciousness Unbound (2021), provide various metaphysical interpretations of this evidence. Here are links to all three:

Irreducible Mind

Beyond Physicalism

Consciousness Unbound

I hope that we get to talk more about this topic as the certificate program progresses. 🙂

Peace be with you!

Hi Thom,

Thanks for creating this thread!

I also enjoyed the conversation about life after death that we had in class this week. The Keith Ward video you posted provides an interesting perspective on these questions. I appreciated him mentioning that while there is a substantial body of evidence for life after death, it is wise to sift through this data with a fine-tooth comb.

I have recently been studying the work of the late Dr. Eric. M. Weiss, a process philosopher who taught graduate courses at the California Institute of Integral Studies. In 2012, Weiss published a book called The Long Trajectory: The Metaphysics of Reincarnation and Life after Death. In this work, Weiss synthesizes the metaphysical ideas of Alfred North Whitehead and Sri Aurobindo to develop a theory of space, time, matter, energy, and consciousness that he calls transphysical process metaphysics. A key goal of this project was providing a coherent explanation for the survival of the personality beyond death and the possibility of reincarnation. Here’s a link to the book:

He also posted a great video series to YouTube that summarizes key themes:

I believe that Weiss carried out his research in affiliation with the Survival Seminar organized by Esalen’s Center for Theory & Research (CRT).

This group has published three great books that may be of interest to folks in this thread. The first one Irreducible Mind (2007) compiles much of the peer-reviewed evidence for reincarnation, personality survival, and life after death. The others, Beyond Physicalism (2015) and Consciousness Unbound (2021), provide various metaphysical interpretations of this evidence. Here are links to all three:

Irreducible Mind

Beyond Physicalism

Consciousness Unbound

I hope that we get to talk more about this topic as the certificate program progresses. 🙂

Peace be with you!

Hi Thom,

Thanks for creating this thread!

I also enjoyed the conversation about life after death that we had in class this week. The Keith Ward video you posted provides an interesting perspective on these questions. I appreciated him mentioning that while there is a substantial body of evidence for life after death, it is wise to sift through this data with a fine-tooth comb.

I have recently been studying the work of the late Dr. Eric. M. Weiss, a process philosopher who taught graduate courses at the California Institute of Integral Studies. In 2012, Weiss published a book called The Long Trajectory: The Metaphysics of Reincarnation and Life after Death. In this work, Weiss synthesizes the metaphysical ideas of Alfred North Whitehead and Sri Aurobindo to develop a theory of space, time, matter, energy, and consciousness that he calls transphysical process metaphysics. A key goal of this project was providing a coherent explanation for the survival of the personality beyond death and the possibility of reincarnation. Here’s a link to the book:

He also posted a great video series to YouTube that summarizes key themes:

I believe that Weiss carried out his research in affiliation with the Survival Seminar organized by Esalen’s Center for Theory & Research (CRT).

This group has published three great books that may be of interest to folks in this thread. The first one Irreducible Mind (2007) compiles much of the peer-reviewed evidence for reincarnation, personality survival, and life after death. The others, Beyond Physicalism (2015) and Consciousness Unbound (2021), provide various metaphysical interpretations of this evidence. Here are links to all three:

Irreducible Mind

Beyond Physicalism

Consciousness Unbound

I hope that we get to talk more about this topic as the certificate program progresses. 🙂

Peace be with you!

Hey Zhenbao! Just wanted to say that I really resonate with everything you posted here and the many great points you made throughout the course. I too have found that the practice of meditation is an invaluable adjunct to the study of process thought. My own tradition (Kriya Yoga) has roots in the Hindu school of Sāṃkhya philosophy but there seem to be many similarities with the Taoist practices you describe. Many of the Kriya techniques involve the conscious movement of energy–or prana–through the body and cerebrospinal nervous system. Through this practice, my body and mind have been affected for the better. I’ve experienced a marked decline in colds, flus, and other seasonal sicknesses. I’ve learned to speak and think in a much more fluid manner, which has certainly helped me to understand some of what Alfred North Whitehead is saying! I have also experienced the “fine tuning” of consciousness that you describe and am becoming more sensitive to the way that food, media, environment, physical posture, and modes of thinking influence my energetic state. I wish I could describe this all in more detail but unfortunately, I’m a little pressed for time at the moment. In the coming weeks, I plan to connect with you again in the certificate program discussion forum.

Cheers,

Ben 🙂

I love the analogy of God as conductor! Sometimes, the simplest explanations can be the most powerful. 😊 I find that musical metaphors are a helpful way of grasping process metaphysics. Another cool musical analogy for God is the leader of a jazz ensemble. While a conductor guides an orchestra as they move through a pre-established score, the leader of a jazz ensemble co-creates music with others in real time. Though the leader may guide the overall course of a song by establishing an improvisatory mode, a jazz band is a fundamentally democratic entity. A great jazz leader knows how to surf the subtle edge between structure and spontaneity, modulating their playing to respond to the choices made by other members. At different points, they might take the spotlight for a solo or hang back and let another member guide the proceedings. There are many other dimensions to unpack with this metaphor, but I find it to be generative and inspiring. Thanks for the post!

Thanks for this post Joel, I feel like we share a lot of similar perspectives. 😊

While I wasn’t raised Christian, I gravitated towards theologies that (as you say) emphasize “a trajectory of all things” as a younger person. Recently though, I’ve been vibing with the Whiteheadian notion of a radically indeterminate universe. I recently came across a quote by Rudolf Steiner that framed the longstanding philosophical debate between freedom and determinism in an interesting way. The wording went something like this: “Humans aren’t free, we’re on the way to becoming free”. What I understand this to mean is that our ability to make meaningful, self-determined choices is something that we cultivate through the process of growth and maturation. It seems to me that the freedom/determinism debate and the “universal tendency toward the creation of value and beauty” that you discuss are closely connected. From my point of view, the uniting factor here is novelty. Something that is beautiful (for example, an inspiring painting) has something new, original, and enlivening about it. While it may draw upon a tradition, utilize mundane and familiar imagery, and be generated out of preexisting colors, it is the way that the creator uses their unique perspective to synthesize these elements that makes the painting beautiful. The emerging field of AI generated art offers some interesting food for thought on the topic of beauty. As an academic librarian, I’ve been experimenting with the use of AI generated artwork in my teaching and have followed the complex copyright debates that are underway in this area. As of now, the most common way to interact with AI systems is by using textual prompts. Tools like Midjourney AI draw on massive image datasets from the Internet in order to generate their outputs. Users can also take 2 or more preexisting images and ask the system to combine them into something new. For example, here is an image that I created this morning blending the Alex Grey painting “Oversoul” with a portrait of Alfred North Whitehead. While the output is “original” in some sense, it is also a rather creepy! Where does repetition end and novelty begin? Are AI systems capable of genuine creativity and self-determination?

Thanks for the thought provoking post 😊

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

Loved reading this post Ryan! I too have had some similar “synchronistic” experiences when thinking about friends. I’m also curious to know if process thought can provide us with a way of understanding them better. I like how you described the possibility that your friend’s news “lured” you towards thinking of him.😊 In his book The Long Trajectory (2012), the process philosopher Eric Weiss describes two factors that are involved when a concrescing actual occasion (like you in the kitchen) prehends an actual occasion that has already been objectified (like your friend’s message). The first factor is the “relevant positions of the two occasions in time and space”, the kind of efficient causation that modern science admits (123). The second reminds me of the experience you had with your friend’s message. He refers to this as “resonance” which derives from the Latin resonatia, meaning echo. Resonance occurs when different vibrational processes oscillate together at the same frequency. For example, when a vocalist belts a high C through an amplified public address system, nearby instruments tuned to the same pitch will vibrate in unison, even after the original sound has subsided. According to Weiss, “the greater the resonance between a past occasion and a current one, the more full the objectification will be—independent from the space-time distance between the occasions” (124). You describe how the news left by your friend might have “entered into the future possibilities for me”. According to Eric Weiss’s interpretation, “the greater the resonance between the aim of a new occasion and the aim of an expired occasion, the more fully the expired occasion objectifies in the new one.” (125). There seem to be many kinds of “nonlocal” resonance that can be explained in this way such as symbolic resonance, emotional resonance, and spiritual resonance. Seems like your friends’ news about such a major life event would involve all three!

Thanks for the thought-provoking post 😊

Ben

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the thought-provoking post!

As a teaching librarian in a public university, I resonated with your point about the challenges of introducing the “spiritual” and “religious” aspects of process thought in a secular educational environment. Your comment about John Kabat Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction reminded me of the many excellent points that Zehnbao made about attending to bodily experience during our Zoom classes.

As you say Chris, it is difficult for new ideas to gain traction today if they are not framed in relation to the paradigm of secular materialism. I’ve recently started reading Iain McGilchrist’s book The Mater With Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World (2021). In this book, he describes how our capacities for holistic, process-relational thinking relate to the bilateral structure of the human brain:

“The brain is, importantly, divided into two hemispheres: you could say, to sum up a vastly complex matter in a phrase, that the brain’s left hemisphere is designed to help us ap-prehend – and thus manipulate – the world; the right hemisphere is to com-prehend it – see it all for what it is.” (Iain McGilchrist, 2021, p. 3)

I am finding that describing the neurological correlates of (right-hemispheric) process-relational thinking is a helpful way of translating these ideas into terms palatable to the secular materialist perspective. I believe that the Center for Process Studies is co-hosting a conference on McGilchrist’s work this spring! I like Jay’s idea of using “holistic thinking” as a lens and have been beginning my classes this term with the following quote from our course textbook:

“Thinking and emotion cannot be sharply separated; mind and body are not two; even thinking is a form of feeling; aesthetic wisdom and rational inquiry are complementary.” (Jay McDaniel, 2021, p. 21).

Peace be with you!

Ben

[Benjamin Dueck]

Hi Thom,

Thanks for creating this thread!

I also enjoyed the conversation about life after death that we had in class this week. The Keith Ward video you posted provides an interesting perspective on these questions. I appreciated him mentioning that while there is a substantial body of evidence for life after death, it is wise to sift through this data with a fine-tooth comb.

I have recently been studying the work of the late Dr. Eric. M. Weiss, a process philosopher who taught graduate courses at the California Institute of Integral Studies. In 2012, Weiss published a book called The Long Trajectory: The Metaphysics of Reincarnation and Life after Death. In this work, Weiss synthesizes the metaphysical ideas of Alfred North Whitehead and Sri Aurobindo to develop a theory of space, time, matter, energy, and consciousness that he calls transphysical process metaphysics. A key goal of this project was providing a coherent explanation for the survival of the personality beyond death and the possibility of reincarnation.

He also posted a great video series to YouTube that summarizes key themes:

I believe that Weiss carried out his research in affiliation with the Survival Seminar organized by Esalen’s Center for Theory & Research (CRT). This group has published three great books that may be of interest to folks in this thread. The first one Irreducible Mind (2007) compiles much of the peer-reviewed evidence for reincarnation, personality survival, and life after death. The others, Beyond Physicalism (2015) and Consciousness Unbound (2021), provide various metaphysical interpretations of this evidence.

I hope that we get to talk more about this topic as the certificate program progresses. 🙂

Peace be with you!

• This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Benjamin Dueck.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Benjamin Dueck.