Occasionally I’ll stumble across a thinker or philosopher where, even before I sit down to really engage with their work, I’ll get an inkling that they have something very important to teach us. Philosopher Alfred North Whitehead is one them.
I explain why in the introduction to the episode:
I was born into a world where many of the things that are most important to me, like art, beauty, relationships, embodied experience, love, and the sacred, are not considered all that important to our understanding of the cosmos. They are thought of as ‘extra fluff’ rather than being at the core of our existence and reality.
One of the thinkers who has sought create a science more attuned to these philosophical questions was mathematician turned philosopher Alfred North Whitehead. In the early 20th century, this very radical time when quantum and relativity theory had begun to undermine the old mechanistic view of physics, Whitehead developed his process philosophy, which focused on the co-creative processes of the world’s becoming, and where lived experience, creativity and a poetic God took centre stage.
Whitehead is fascinating but also challenging, so it’s good to have a guide as we delve into his world. A few months ago I was lucky enough to sit down with Whitehead scholar Matthew David Segall and begin to unpack Whitehead’s philosophy and what it might mean for us today.
Whitehead maintained that science must also somehow correspond to our bodily, common sense experience of the world. Matthew explains that according to Whitehead,
Our feelings, our emotions, our intuitions, our imagination, movement-based ways of knowing – these are all crucial ingredients for actually coming to know and understand the world. They’re not secondary to the typical academic focus on mind or intellect. (…)
He was truly an integral thinker, bringing science, religion and art back into a comprehensive view of of the cosmos. And I would say we’re still catching up to him now.
Putting process, experience and events at the centre of his understanding of the cosmos, Whitehead helps us reach towards a more enlivened and ensouled view of the universe, without dismissing the scientific perspective. We also delve into Whitehead’s unique conception of God as a “creature of creativity”; a poet and fellow sufferer that is not omnipotent, but in need of us:
Whitehead says that God’s power is the worship that God inspires, which is to say, God is a poet who’s giving us a vision that we could decide to realize, if we want. But we have to want to realize it. (…)
God needs us in the sense that the universe that is divinely envisioned can’t be actualized by God alone.
You see why I think Whitehead is a tantalising, secret glade in the forest?
I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. You can also find Matthew David Segall here on Substack at ☿Footnotes²Plato☀☾.
In other news
Thanks to everyone who came to the Forest of Thought gathering in the actual forest. Keri Facer, the other participants and I explored the theme of ‘listening’ together, sharing a fire and tea. I’ll be sharing an edited version of the conversation on the podcast in a few weeks time.
Also, I’ll be participating in the Climate Existence event in Uppsala on November 20th, a symposium on the existential questions that arise out of our current crises. It’s free, but you need to register for the limited spots.
The leaves are turning here in Uppsala. There are apples to be pressed and chantarelles to be found in the forest, so all is well.
Sending you best wishes for whichever season you are in. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with the next episode.
Ingrid
