From nature to experience: a study in the philosophy of Whitehead

Abstract

These pages represent merely a necessary pause for organization and analysis in a study of the philosophy of Whitehead that has already stretched itself intermittently over the course of five years, the interest surviving even the lull of intellectual activity to which I succumbed during an intervening period of military service. Barring unforeseen circumstances, I shall surely continue to be a student of Whitehead's philosophical writings. The reflections of this very rare and remarkable man comprise a systematic body of thought as vast and deep as the universe he sought to comprehend. I feel so far that I have succeeded only in orienting myself as to its major contours and divisions. The work of this study raised many questions and problems which lead far beyond the boundaries of the limited topic to which I here limited myself; these I have put aside for future investigations. I have been aided considerably in what understanding I have gained of Whitehead by Professor Victor Lowe's masterful essay on his philosophical development, appearing in the Library of Living Philosophers volume devoted to Whitehead, and by Dr. Ivor Leclerc's recent book, Whitehead's Metaphysics. Dr. Leclerc was generous enough to loan to me the typescript of his book before it appeared in June of 1950, a gesture for which I remain extremely grateful. I should also like to express my appreciation to Drs. Robert Palter and V. C. Chappell of the University of Chicago, who read and criticized portions of the first three chapters, to Miss Valeta Purrington, who typed the final draft, and to my wife, who has patiently and lovingly endured the production of the entire study.