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The Concept of Nature: The Tarner Lectures Delivered in Trinity College, 11/1919
(Cambridge Philosophy Classics)
by
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern
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Paperback, 1920, 212 pages
Published
November 3rd 2007
by Kessinger Publishing
(first published 1920)
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Start your review of The Concept of Nature: The Tarner Lectures Delivered in Trinity College, 11/1919
Anybody expecting to read this book for some kind of metaphysical buzz will be disappointed. Whitehead's approach is highly technical involving four dimensional geometry, event particles, "sigma primes" and a host of other self defined technical terms. Among these terms (ie a "duration") just when I felt I had grasped his meaning I came upon what to me was an inconsistency. Since it is ANW I can only conclude I hadn't grasped his meaning in the first place. He definitely pushes against the tende
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Whitehead has come up as an influence on both philosophers/theorists (Latour, Bennett, DeLanda, Deleuze/Guattari) and theologians that I've been interested in recently. This was a nice (free -- thanks Project Gutenberg!) intro, though even for me it got a little overly dedicated in its exploration of definitions. It's worth riding it out, in part because now I feel ready to dive into some other works of his.
I suppose it helps that I was already pretty convinced that we're better off thinking of ...more
I suppose it helps that I was already pretty convinced that we're better off thinking of ...more
We are in 1920, Whitehead tries to tell apart what is nature and what is just mental excitements of ours. This is very entertaining and enlightening. We are seeking simplicity in abstractions of nature that just exist in our minds, also called models. Progress, however, demands distrust in such simplifications so to find better abstractions for the structure of events that we call nature. He was strongly influenced by Einstein’s theory of relativity (1916) sharing gems like "science is concerned
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''Nature is a process.''
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Theoretical and philosophical, Whitehead's conceptual exploration has, for such a short book, a fullness that can sink you if you are not prepared for it. I enjoyed it for the things that I could glean from it--especially in the earlier chapters; but as he continued his lectures, his erudition obfuscated the matter enough for me that I found myself skimming.
I like his definition of nature: "the creative force of existence" (p. 73). I like his chapter on the bifurcation of the theories of nature ...more
I like his definition of nature: "the creative force of existence" (p. 73). I like his chapter on the bifurcation of the theories of nature ...more
One interesting quote and idea: 'What we perceive as present is the vivid fringe of memory tinged with anticipation', beyond that a bit of a slog. More about the inside of A.N.W.'s head than nature or reality, loads of novel terms and definitions that do not seem necessary and serve more to confuse than elucidate.
When I realized that he was taking on Einstein and relativity it pretty much lost me: until we can use rects and abstractive sets to keep our GPS satellites in sync I'm going to go with ...more
When I realized that he was taking on Einstein and relativity it pretty much lost me: until we can use rects and abstractive sets to keep our GPS satellites in sync I'm going to go with ...more
Like all Whitehead's work The Concept of Natures is dense and esoteric. It is a hard read and will require additional analysis. That said I love Whitehead and this was no exception. From what I understood I don't think I agree with some of his conclusions, in particular about is interpretation of Einsteinian physics. But his general approach is very interesting and I will need to look at it again.
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Interesting exposition but could be more plainly written
Whiteheads thesis in this book is outlines a structure for understanding nature in a novel way that, once you penetrate the writing has coherence. It won't give you a modern view but would make interesting reading for anyone interested in metaphysics. The only area lacking is that his symbolism is hard to follow and his coinage of new words unnecessary. Otherwise a pleasant challenge to read. ...more
Whiteheads thesis in this book is outlines a structure for understanding nature in a novel way that, once you penetrate the writing has coherence. It won't give you a modern view but would make interesting reading for anyone interested in metaphysics. The only area lacking is that his symbolism is hard to follow and his coinage of new words unnecessary. Otherwise a pleasant challenge to read. ...more
A marvelous first step in Whitehead's overhaul of our picture of the world. It lacks the completeness of process and reality, yet many of his ideas, still in their fetal stages here, are clearer and more graspable. Not for the faint-of-heart; if you like physics or math, this is a good book for you.
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Based on a series of lectures in 1919 at Trinity College regarding discussions on the relations between time, space, and logical perception...
Actually a 4.5 read, occasional research to be done during its duration, very interesting and knowledge increasing...
Actually a 4.5 read, occasional research to be done during its duration, very interesting and knowledge increasing...
For those who are native natural scientists and/or have an interest in natural philosophy, this book is a must read. It also forms some sort of bridge towards his magnum opus, which is really useful considering the way in which Process and Reality is written.
I was tipped off to Whitehead in Jed Perl's New Art City, where Fairfield Porter and Donald Judd were each apparently influenced by him. Whitehead's discussions about nature, time, space, motion & objects are highly technical - energizing my studio practice.
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Dense, difficult, and challenging
But well worth the effort for its insights into nature, our perception of it, and how we might think about nature without bifurcating it.
But well worth the effort for its insights into nature, our perception of it, and how we might think about nature without bifurcating it.
Mar 14, 2012
Jennifer Rockwood
is currently reading it
big thinking here sometimes I have to reread whole paragraphs
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Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as the defining figure of the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which today has found application to a wide variety of disciplines, including ecology, theology, education, physics, biology, economics, and psychology, among other areas.
In his early care ...more
In his early care ...more
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