Whitehead's Radically Different Postmodern Philosophy

Whitehead's Radically Different Postmodern Philosophy

Author: David Ray Griffin

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 0791480305

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Postmodern philosophy is often dismissed as unintelligible, self-contradictory, and as a passing fad with no contribution to make to the problems faced by philosophers in our time. While this characterization may be true of the type of philosophy labeled postmodern in the 1980s and 1990s, David Ray Griffin argues that Alfred North Whitehead had formulated a radically different type of postmodern philosophy to which these criticisms do not apply. Griffin shows the power of Whitehead's philosophy in dealing with a range of contemporary issues—the mind-body relation, ecological ethics, truth as correspondence, the relation of time in physics to the (irreversible) time of our lives, and the reality of moral norms. He also defends a distinctive dimension of Whitehead's postmodernism, his theism, against various criticisms, including the charge that it is incompatible with relativity theory.


Book Synopsis Whitehead's Radically Different Postmodern Philosophy by : David Ray Griffin

Download or read book Whitehead's Radically Different Postmodern Philosophy written by David Ray Griffin and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Postmodern philosophy is often dismissed as unintelligible, self-contradictory, and as a passing fad with no contribution to make to the problems faced by philosophers in our time. While this characterization may be true of the type of philosophy labeled postmodern in the 1980s and 1990s, David Ray Griffin argues that Alfred North Whitehead had formulated a radically different type of postmodern philosophy to which these criticisms do not apply. Griffin shows the power of Whitehead's philosophy in dealing with a range of contemporary issues—the mind-body relation, ecological ethics, truth as correspondence, the relation of time in physics to the (irreversible) time of our lives, and the reality of moral norms. He also defends a distinctive dimension of Whitehead's postmodernism, his theism, against various criticisms, including the charge that it is incompatible with relativity theory.

Founders of Constructive Postmodern Philosophy

Founders of Constructive Postmodern Philosophy

Author: David Ray Griffin

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1993-01-01

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9780791413333

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In presenting Peirce, James, Bergson, Whitehead, and Hartshorne as members of a common and distinctively postmodern trajectory, this book casts the thought of each of them in a new light. It also suggests a new direction for the philosophical community as a whole, now that the various forms of modern philosophy, and even the deconstructive form of postmodern philosophy, are widely perceived to be dead-ends. This new option offers the possibility that philosophy may recover its role as critic and guide within the more general culture, a recovery that is desperately needed in these perilous times.


Book Synopsis Founders of Constructive Postmodern Philosophy by : David Ray Griffin

Download or read book Founders of Constructive Postmodern Philosophy written by David Ray Griffin and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In presenting Peirce, James, Bergson, Whitehead, and Hartshorne as members of a common and distinctively postmodern trajectory, this book casts the thought of each of them in a new light. It also suggests a new direction for the philosophical community as a whole, now that the various forms of modern philosophy, and even the deconstructive form of postmodern philosophy, are widely perceived to be dead-ends. This new option offers the possibility that philosophy may recover its role as critic and guide within the more general culture, a recovery that is desperately needed in these perilous times.

Whitehead's Philosophy

Whitehead's Philosophy

Author: Janusz A. Polanowski

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2004-10-28

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9780791461372

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Demonstrates myriad points of connection between Whitehead's philosophy and mainstream philosophical traditions.


Book Synopsis Whitehead's Philosophy by : Janusz A. Polanowski

Download or read book Whitehead's Philosophy written by Janusz A. Polanowski and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2004-10-28 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demonstrates myriad points of connection between Whitehead's philosophy and mainstream philosophical traditions.

Primordial Truth and Postmodern Theology

Primordial Truth and Postmodern Theology

Author: David Ray Griffin

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 1989-10-19

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1438404948

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In this book, Huston Smith and David Ray Griffin propose religious philosophies to succeed the waning worldview of modernity. Huston Smith proposes the perennial philosophy or primordial tradition, and David Ray Griffin offers postmodern process theology. The ultimate issue debated is whether we should return to a traditional religious philosophy or seek a new never-before-articulated worldview. The debate covers the following issues: the relation of Christianity to other religions; the ultimate reality of a personal God in relation to a transpersonal absolute; the ultimate reality of time and progress; the problem of evil; the nature of immortality; the relation of humans to nature; the relation of science to theology; the relation of upward to downward causation; and the possibility of nonrelativistic criteria for deciding between competing worldviews.


Book Synopsis Primordial Truth and Postmodern Theology by : David Ray Griffin

Download or read book Primordial Truth and Postmodern Theology written by David Ray Griffin and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1989-10-19 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Huston Smith and David Ray Griffin propose religious philosophies to succeed the waning worldview of modernity. Huston Smith proposes the perennial philosophy or primordial tradition, and David Ray Griffin offers postmodern process theology. The ultimate issue debated is whether we should return to a traditional religious philosophy or seek a new never-before-articulated worldview. The debate covers the following issues: the relation of Christianity to other religions; the ultimate reality of a personal God in relation to a transpersonal absolute; the ultimate reality of time and progress; the problem of evil; the nature of immortality; the relation of humans to nature; the relation of science to theology; the relation of upward to downward causation; and the possibility of nonrelativistic criteria for deciding between competing worldviews.

Time and the Digital

Time and the Digital

Author: Timothy Scott Barker

Publisher: UPNE

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1611683017

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An original consideration of the temporal in digital art and aesthetics


Book Synopsis Time and the Digital by : Timothy Scott Barker

Download or read book Time and the Digital written by Timothy Scott Barker and published by UPNE. This book was released on 2012 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An original consideration of the temporal in digital art and aesthetics

Process and Difference

Process and Difference

Author: Catherine Keller

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0791488985

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The similarities and creative tensions between French-based poststructuralism and Whiteheadian process thought are examined here by leading scholars. Although both approaches are labeled "postmodern," their own proponents often take them to be so dissimilar as to be opposed. Contributors to this book, however, argue that processing these differences of theory at a deeper level may cultivate fertile and innovative modes of reflection. Through their comparisons, contrasts, and hybridizations of process and poststructuralist theories, the contributors variously redefine concepts of divinity and cosmos, advance the interaction between science and religion, and engage the sex/gender and religious ethics of otherness and subjectivity.


Book Synopsis Process and Difference by : Catherine Keller

Download or read book Process and Difference written by Catherine Keller and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The similarities and creative tensions between French-based poststructuralism and Whiteheadian process thought are examined here by leading scholars. Although both approaches are labeled "postmodern," their own proponents often take them to be so dissimilar as to be opposed. Contributors to this book, however, argue that processing these differences of theory at a deeper level may cultivate fertile and innovative modes of reflection. Through their comparisons, contrasts, and hybridizations of process and poststructuralist theories, the contributors variously redefine concepts of divinity and cosmos, advance the interaction between science and religion, and engage the sex/gender and religious ethics of otherness and subjectivity.

Unsnarling the World-Knot

Unsnarling the World-Knot

Author: David Ray Griffin

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2008-03-25

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 1556357559

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The mind-body problem, which Schopenhauer called the "world-knot," has been a central problem for philosophy since the time of Descartes. Among realists--those who accept the reality of the physical world--the two dominant approaches have been dualism and materialism, but there is a growing consensus that, if we are ever to understand how mind and body are related, a radically new approach is required. David Ray Griffin develops a third form of realism, one that resolves the basic problem (common to dualism and materialism) of the continued acceptance of the Cartesian view of matter. In dialogue with various philosophers, including Dennett, Kim, McGinn, Nagel, Seager, Searle, and Strawson, Griffin shows that materialist physicalism is even more problematic than dualism. He proposes instead a panexperientialist physicalism grounded in the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. Answering those who have rejected "panpsychism" as obviously absurd, Griffin argues compellingly that panexperientialism, by taking experience and spontaneity as fully natural, can finally provide a naturalistic account of the emergence of consciousness--an account that also does justice to the freedom we all suppose in practice.


Book Synopsis Unsnarling the World-Knot by : David Ray Griffin

Download or read book Unsnarling the World-Knot written by David Ray Griffin and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2008-03-25 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mind-body problem, which Schopenhauer called the "world-knot," has been a central problem for philosophy since the time of Descartes. Among realists--those who accept the reality of the physical world--the two dominant approaches have been dualism and materialism, but there is a growing consensus that, if we are ever to understand how mind and body are related, a radically new approach is required. David Ray Griffin develops a third form of realism, one that resolves the basic problem (common to dualism and materialism) of the continued acceptance of the Cartesian view of matter. In dialogue with various philosophers, including Dennett, Kim, McGinn, Nagel, Seager, Searle, and Strawson, Griffin shows that materialist physicalism is even more problematic than dualism. He proposes instead a panexperientialist physicalism grounded in the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. Answering those who have rejected "panpsychism" as obviously absurd, Griffin argues compellingly that panexperientialism, by taking experience and spontaneity as fully natural, can finally provide a naturalistic account of the emergence of consciousness--an account that also does justice to the freedom we all suppose in practice.

The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Philosophers in America

The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Philosophers in America

Author: John R. Shook

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2016-02-11

Total Pages: 1105

ISBN-13: 1472570553

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For scholars working on almost any aspect of American thought, The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia to Philosophers in America presents an indispensable reference work. Selecting over 700 figures from the Dictionary of Early American Philosophers and the Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers, this condensed edition includes key contributors to philosophical thought. From 1600 to the present day, entries cover psychology, pedagogy, sociology, anthropology, education, theology and political science, before these disciplines came to be considered distinct from philosophy. Clear and accessible, each entry contains a short biography of the writer, an exposition and analysis of his or her doctrines and ideas, a bibliography of writings and suggestions for further reading. Featuring a new preface by the editor and a comprehensive introduction, The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia to Philosophers in America includes 30 new entries on twenty-first century thinkers including Martha Nussbaum and Patricia Churchland. With in-depth overviews of Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Noah Porter, Frederick Rauch, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, this is an invaluable one-stop research volume to understanding leading figures in American thought and the development of American intellectual history.


Book Synopsis The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Philosophers in America by : John R. Shook

Download or read book The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Philosophers in America written by John R. Shook and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-02-11 with total page 1105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For scholars working on almost any aspect of American thought, The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia to Philosophers in America presents an indispensable reference work. Selecting over 700 figures from the Dictionary of Early American Philosophers and the Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers, this condensed edition includes key contributors to philosophical thought. From 1600 to the present day, entries cover psychology, pedagogy, sociology, anthropology, education, theology and political science, before these disciplines came to be considered distinct from philosophy. Clear and accessible, each entry contains a short biography of the writer, an exposition and analysis of his or her doctrines and ideas, a bibliography of writings and suggestions for further reading. Featuring a new preface by the editor and a comprehensive introduction, The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia to Philosophers in America includes 30 new entries on twenty-first century thinkers including Martha Nussbaum and Patricia Churchland. With in-depth overviews of Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Noah Porter, Frederick Rauch, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, this is an invaluable one-stop research volume to understanding leading figures in American thought and the development of American intellectual history.

Deep Postmodernism

Deep Postmodernism

Author: Jerry H. Gill

Publisher: Humanities Press International

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13:

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This is a winning and accessible critique of postmodernist philosophy. Postmodernism is a term used to describe a contemporary school of philosophy that takes a highly critical stance toward the conceptual underpinnings of the modern worldview. In this critical assessment of postmodernism, philosopher Jerry Gill argues that, however insightful the critiques of the postmodernists, they did little or nothing to offer constructive approaches to overcoming the impasse their criticism of modernism created. Instead, he turns to an earlier generation of 20th century philosophers - Alfred Whitehead, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Michael Polanyi - who anticipated later postmodern trends but offered alternative approaches to the dilemmas of modernism regarding the nature of reality, knowledge, and language


Book Synopsis Deep Postmodernism by : Jerry H. Gill

Download or read book Deep Postmodernism written by Jerry H. Gill and published by Humanities Press International. This book was released on 2010 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a winning and accessible critique of postmodernist philosophy. Postmodernism is a term used to describe a contemporary school of philosophy that takes a highly critical stance toward the conceptual underpinnings of the modern worldview. In this critical assessment of postmodernism, philosopher Jerry Gill argues that, however insightful the critiques of the postmodernists, they did little or nothing to offer constructive approaches to overcoming the impasse their criticism of modernism created. Instead, he turns to an earlier generation of 20th century philosophers - Alfred Whitehead, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Michael Polanyi - who anticipated later postmodern trends but offered alternative approaches to the dilemmas of modernism regarding the nature of reality, knowledge, and language

Without Criteria

Without Criteria

Author: Steven Shaviro

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2012-08-24

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 0262261154

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A Deleuzian reading of Whitehead and a Whiteheadian reading of Deleuze open the possibility of a critical aesthetics of contemporary culture. In Without Criteria, Steven Shaviro proposes and explores a philosophical fantasy: imagine a world in which Alfred North Whitehead takes the place of Martin Heidegger. What if Whitehead, instead of Heidegger, had set the agenda for postmodern thought? Heidegger asks, “Why is there something, rather than nothing?” Whitehead asks, “How is it that there is always something new?” In a world where everything from popular music to DNA is being sampled and recombined, argues Shaviro, Whitehead's question is the truly urgent one. Without Criteria is Shaviro's experiment in rethinking postmodern theory, especially the theory of aesthetics, from a point of view that hearkens back to Whitehead rather than Heidegger. In working through the ideas of Whitehead and Deleuze, Shaviro also appeals to Kant, arguing that certain aspects of Kant's thought pave the way for the philosophical “constructivism” embraced by both Whitehead and Deleuze. Kant, Whitehead, and Deleuze are not commonly grouped together, but the juxtaposition of them in Without Criteria helps to shed light on a variety of issues that are of concern to contemporary art and media practices.


Book Synopsis Without Criteria by : Steven Shaviro

Download or read book Without Criteria written by Steven Shaviro and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2012-08-24 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Deleuzian reading of Whitehead and a Whiteheadian reading of Deleuze open the possibility of a critical aesthetics of contemporary culture. In Without Criteria, Steven Shaviro proposes and explores a philosophical fantasy: imagine a world in which Alfred North Whitehead takes the place of Martin Heidegger. What if Whitehead, instead of Heidegger, had set the agenda for postmodern thought? Heidegger asks, “Why is there something, rather than nothing?” Whitehead asks, “How is it that there is always something new?” In a world where everything from popular music to DNA is being sampled and recombined, argues Shaviro, Whitehead's question is the truly urgent one. Without Criteria is Shaviro's experiment in rethinking postmodern theory, especially the theory of aesthetics, from a point of view that hearkens back to Whitehead rather than Heidegger. In working through the ideas of Whitehead and Deleuze, Shaviro also appeals to Kant, arguing that certain aspects of Kant's thought pave the way for the philosophical “constructivism” embraced by both Whitehead and Deleuze. Kant, Whitehead, and Deleuze are not commonly grouped together, but the juxtaposition of them in Without Criteria helps to shed light on a variety of issues that are of concern to contemporary art and media practices.