Process and Reality (Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of Edinburgh During the Session 1927-28)

Possibly the most important work of philosophy since Socrates and maybe the greatest work of philosophy ever badly written, but then again Socrates was so busy thinking, he didn't write at all, letting Plato do all his writing for him. WTF Plato! You have such an annoying way of oversimplifying or as you put it "idealizing" everything.So, in keeping it real I'll say, If you give a sh*t about actual reality, and I mean that literally for emphasis, let's face it, most people only like reality if it involves getting into hair pulling arguments, throwing drinks, misunderstands on purpose, and doing hilariously horrible things to other "contestants" to get camera time, because nothing is real unless it is on TV.Well, Whitehead's P&R has more drama, more confrontation, and if you can decode his words into the meaningless drivel we call natural language you will get a dose of reality that may be more than you can handle.

This is not an easy read, but one that has definitely changed the way I see the world forever.There are not enough words to express my love for Whitehead, so I will simply leave it at this: beautiful.

Whitehead is a difficult read, but his view of the universe is a ground breaking shift from how Western society has evolved its view. Whitehead moves metaphysically from substance to event, from static to dynamic, and seeks to integrate different fields into constructive dialogue with one another. A potentially revolutionary book which should find more use in Western culture than it has to this point.

even if the author was trying to convey some brilliant insight it is a horribly bloated sloppy book, don’t expect any justification about why alfred is right or thinks what he does, it is obvious he does not understand it himself, he is just introspectively trying to describe time and potentiality, he doesn’t hit the nail on the head which is what is needed when trying to dissect time, if you want to use his ideas for inspiration save your time and watch a youtube, the book doesn’t cohere the ideas together

This is the last book I thought would ever be turned into an ebook. When I studied it in theology class in seminary it was said that only 4 people had ever understood the book, and 3 of them are dead. It is probably one of the most difficult books in the English language in modern philosophy, On the other hand, Process and Reality is the ultimate work by probably the last philosopher to attempt to explain everything.Whitehead was a mathematician, philosopher of science, and a metaphysician. That is metaphysics, not as in mumbo jumbo nonsense, but as in the original sense of an explanation of ultimate reality. The ultimate reality for Whitehead and process philosophers and theologians is not things or ideas but creative process.

Studied this in college and was totally blown away! Process & Reality is, in a nutshell, mathematics-based, process metaphysics, with quantum mechanics thrown in for good measure. Say that 3 times fast! Given that he wrote this in 1927-28, many of the concepts he proposed were way ahead of the times. The concepts he proposed were similar to Spinoza & Meister Eckhart, although more advanced than either one. I found it fascinating! I was a Philosophy major at the time & this was one of the first texts that really ignited my passion for philosophy & quantum mechanics. I would recommend this to Philosophers, Physicists, and anyone who is just naturally inquisitive about the way the world and its parts work.

The views of Alfred North Whitehead about the true nature of reality are most underrated and undervalued. Rather than complex, Whitehead's views were simply unfamiliar to early reviewers of this book. Whitehead, a contemporary of Einstein, unveiled about 78% of The Next Scientific Revolution (explained in a book with the same title, which you'll also find on Amazon). The Next Scientific Revolution is about the explanation of reality as a non-material, wholly behavioral phenomenon.

Innovative in all respects: the author created a space of his own by analogically accounts for the universe with the idea of growth and prosperity. The interrelation between the past and the present is united in a way that was later developed by Heideggar and Gadamer as horizon fusion. The notion of the THE PRESENT is full explicated. Readers are suggested going on reading Mead's THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE PRESENT. Both are modern classics.

Whitehead is not of course light reading, but within his scientific/philosophical genre, he is a master stylist, clear, compelling and illuminating. Whitehead is most famous for his collaboration with Bertrand Russell, but this is actually the more important work. His thesis turns on its head the 19th-century view of matter, science and the cosmos. Nevertheless, science and philosophy has been relatively slow to realize the enormous significance of his work, recognition which is now coming his way. What Whitehead does is transform things into activities and events. Instead of seeing atoms, molecules and the physical world composed of them as things, relatively hard nuggets seen independently of time, they become processes taking place in time, and therefore activities and events in continual actualization. Such thinking is important to or accords with Deleuze and post structure and thinking, Heidegger, Gadamer and phenomenology, morphogenetic fields and a more dynamic understanding of the organic world, and is equally important to the practising manager today. It means that we begin to think in terms of activities and processes, a much more fluid dynamic view of everything. We begin to see ourselves as activating events, organisational culture as a dynamic field, and the universe as altogether more remarkable.

Despite te author's high standing among philosophers he is thoroughly unfit to be writing for a beginner like myself in the subject. Clarity and avoidance of complications are not in his line. He seems to be making a point then immediately subdivides it into 8 or 9 sub-points which fogs the meaning of what he has to say and wearies the life out of a novice . What the students of his time thought of him thought of him I dread to think. Give me Roger Scruton any day.W.M. Owen

Academic book are generally expensive. That's why it makes sense if you're on a budget, to buy those that are relevant to your interest second hand. I got a perfectly serviceable copy at a fair price and it arrived sooner than I expected.

This is a seminal work which is unduly convoluted and tangled in its presentation. It necessitates the "Key to Process and Reality " by Sherburne to clear away the unnecessary confusions and complexities as well as perhaps the introduction to Whitehead's metaphysics by Leclerc: "Whitehead's Metaphysics - an Introductory Explanation" (Indiana Univ Press) to complete one's understanding of Whitehead's metaphysics. After attempting to read this work without any reference to the Sherburne "Key" and stumbling, I came away feeling that a philosopher who is discussing universal harmony and unity among other things, and who presents his thesis in such a non-linear and obtuse fashion must have some severe problems in his own comprehension of reality and in his understanding of the reality of his audience. The work is however worth the trouble in using other works to understand it. It is considered one of the masterpieces of Western Philosophy however obtuse and tangled and unduly complicated it is. See also David Bohm's, "Wholeness and the Implicate Order". Wholeness and the Implicate Order (Routledge Classics)Wholeness and the Implicate Order (Routledge Classics)

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