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An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Natural Knowledge
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216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1919
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About the author
Alfred North Whitehead
123 books446 followersAlfred 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 career Whitehead wrote primarily on mathematics, logic, and physics. His most notable work in these fields is the three-volume Principia Mathematica (1910–13), which he co-wrote with former student Bertrand Russell. Principia Mathematica is considered one of the twentieth century's most important works in mathematical logic, and placed 23rd in a list of the top 100 English-language nonfiction books of the twentieth century by Modern Library.
Beginning in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Whitehead gradually turned his attention from mathematics to philosophy of science, and finally to metaphysics. He developed a comprehensive metaphysical system which radically departed from most of western philosophy. Whitehead argued that reality was fundamentally constructed by events rather than substances, and that these events cannot be defined apart from their relations to other events, thus rejecting the theory of independently existing substances. Today Whitehead's philosophical works – particularly Process and Reality – are regarded as the foundational texts of process philosophy.
Whitehead's process philosophy argues that "there is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have consequences for the world around us." For this reason, one of the most promising applications of Whitehead's thought in recent years has been in the area of ecological civilization and environmental ethics pioneered by John B. Cobb, Jr.
Isabelle Stengers wrote that "Whiteheadians are recruited among both philosophers and theologians, and the palette has been enriched by practitioners from the most diverse horizons, from ecology to feminism, practices that unite political struggle and spirituality with the sciences of education." Indeed, in recent decades attention to Whitehead's work has become more widespread, with interest extending to intellectuals in Europe and China, and coming from such diverse fields as ecology, physics, biology, education, economics, and psychology. However, it was not until the 1970s and 1980s that Whitehead's thought drew much attention outside of a small group of American philosophers and theologians, and even today he is not considered especially influential outside of relatively specialized circles.
In recent years, Whiteheadian thought has become a stimulating influence in scientific research.
In physics particularly, Whitehead's thought has been influential, articulating a rival doctrine to Albert Einstein's general relativity. Whitehead's theory of gravitation continues to be controversial. Even Yutaka Tanaka, who suggests that the gravitational constant disagrees with experimental findings, admits that Einstein's work does not actually refute Whitehead's formulation. Also, although Whitehead himself gave only secondary consideration to quantum theory, his metaphysics of events has proved attractive to physicists in that field. Henry Stapp and David Bohm are among those whose work has been influenced by Whitehead.
Whitehead is widely known for his influence in education theory. His philosophy inspired the formation of the Association for Process Philosophy of Education (APPE), which published eleven volumes of a journal titled Process Papers on process philosophy and education from 1996 to 2008. Whitehead's theories on education also led to the formation of new modes of learning and new models of teaching.
In his early career Whitehead wrote primarily on mathematics, logic, and physics. His most notable work in these fields is the three-volume Principia Mathematica (1910–13), which he co-wrote with former student Bertrand Russell. Principia Mathematica is considered one of the twentieth century's most important works in mathematical logic, and placed 23rd in a list of the top 100 English-language nonfiction books of the twentieth century by Modern Library.
Beginning in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Whitehead gradually turned his attention from mathematics to philosophy of science, and finally to metaphysics. He developed a comprehensive metaphysical system which radically departed from most of western philosophy. Whitehead argued that reality was fundamentally constructed by events rather than substances, and that these events cannot be defined apart from their relations to other events, thus rejecting the theory of independently existing substances. Today Whitehead's philosophical works – particularly Process and Reality – are regarded as the foundational texts of process philosophy.
Whitehead's process philosophy argues that "there is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have consequences for the world around us." For this reason, one of the most promising applications of Whitehead's thought in recent years has been in the area of ecological civilization and environmental ethics pioneered by John B. Cobb, Jr.
Isabelle Stengers wrote that "Whiteheadians are recruited among both philosophers and theologians, and the palette has been enriched by practitioners from the most diverse horizons, from ecology to feminism, practices that unite political struggle and spirituality with the sciences of education." Indeed, in recent decades attention to Whitehead's work has become more widespread, with interest extending to intellectuals in Europe and China, and coming from such diverse fields as ecology, physics, biology, education, economics, and psychology. However, it was not until the 1970s and 1980s that Whitehead's thought drew much attention outside of a small group of American philosophers and theologians, and even today he is not considered especially influential outside of relatively specialized circles.
In recent years, Whiteheadian thought has become a stimulating influence in scientific research.
In physics particularly, Whitehead's thought has been influential, articulating a rival doctrine to Albert Einstein's general relativity. Whitehead's theory of gravitation continues to be controversial. Even Yutaka Tanaka, who suggests that the gravitational constant disagrees with experimental findings, admits that Einstein's work does not actually refute Whitehead's formulation. Also, although Whitehead himself gave only secondary consideration to quantum theory, his metaphysics of events has proved attractive to physicists in that field. Henry Stapp and David Bohm are among those whose work has been influenced by Whitehead.
Whitehead is widely known for his influence in education theory. His philosophy inspired the formation of the Association for Process Philosophy of Education (APPE), which published eleven volumes of a journal titled Process Papers on process philosophy and education from 1996 to 2008. Whitehead's theories on education also led to the formation of new modes of learning and new models of teaching.
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June 24, 2023
Free download available at Project Gutenberg
I made the proofing (heavy maths!!) of this book for Free Literature and Project Gutenberg will published it.
CONTENTS
PART I
THE TRADITIONS OF SCIENCE
CHAPTER I. MEANING
ARTS.
1. Traditional Scientific Concepts
2. Philosophic Relativity
3. Perception
CHAPTER II. THE FOUNDATIONS OF DYNAMICAL PHYSICS
4. Newton's Laws of Motion
5. The Ether
6. Maxwell's Equations
Appendix I : Newton's Laws of Motion
Appendix II: Clerk Maxwell's Equations of the
Electromagnetic Field
CHAPTER III. SCIENTIFIC RELATIVITY
7. Consentient Sets
8. Kinematic Relations
9. Motion through the Ether
10. Formulae for Relative Motion
Appendix: Mathematical Formulae
CHAPTER IV. CONGRUENCE
11. Simultaneity
12. Congruence and Recognition
PART II
THE DATA OF SCIENCE
CHAPTER V. THE NATURAL ELEMENTS
13. The Diversification of Nature
14. Events
15. Objects
CHAPTER VI. EVENTS
16. Apprehension of Events
17. The Constants of Externality
18. Extension
19. Absolute Position
20. The Community of Nature
21. Characters of Events
CHAPTER VII. OBJECTS
22. Types of Objects
23. Sense-Objects
24. Perceptual Objects
25. Scientific Objects
26. Duality of Nature
PART III
THE METHOD OF EXTENSIVE ABSTRACTION
CHAPTER VIII. PRINCIPLES OF THE METHOD OF EXTENSIVE ABSTRACTION
27. The Relation of Extension, Fundamental Properties
28. Intersection, Separation and Dissection
29. The Junction of Events
30. Abstractive Classes
31. Primes and Antiprimes
32. Abstractive Elements
CHAPTER IX. DURATIONS, MOMENTS AND TIME-SYSTEMS
33. Antiprimes, Durations and Moments
34. Parallelism and Time-Systems
35. Levels, Rects, and Puncts
36. Parallelism and Order
CHAPTER X. FINITE ABSTRACTIVE ELEMENTS
37. Absolute Primes and Event-Particles
38. Routes
39. Solids
40. Volumes
CHAPTER XI. POINTS AND STRAIGHT LINES
41. Stations
42. Point-Tracks and Points
43. Parallelism
44. Matrices
45. Null-Tracks
46. Straight Lines
CHAPTER XII. NORMALITY AND CONGRUENCE
47. Normality
48. Congruence
CHAPTER XIII. MOTION
49. Analytic Geometry
50. The Principle of Kinematic Symmetry
51. Transitivity of Congruence
52. The Three Types of Kinematics
PART IV
THE THEORY OF OBJECTS
CHAPTER XIV. THE LOCATION OF OBJECTS
53. Location
54. Uniform Objects
55. Components of Objects
CHAPTER XV. MATERIAL OBJECTS
56. Material Objects
57. Stationary Events
58. Motion of Objects
59. Extensive Magnitude
CHAPTER XVI. CAUSAL COMPONENTS
60. Apparent and Causal Components
61. Transition from Appearance to Cause
CHAPTER XVII. FIGURES
62. Sense-Figures
63. Geometrical Figures
CHAPTER XVIII. RHYTHMS
64. Rhythms
Notes
I made the proofing (heavy maths!!) of this book for Free Literature and Project Gutenberg will published it.
CONTENTS
PART I
THE TRADITIONS OF SCIENCE
CHAPTER I. MEANING
ARTS.
1. Traditional Scientific Concepts
2. Philosophic Relativity
3. Perception
CHAPTER II. THE FOUNDATIONS OF DYNAMICAL PHYSICS
4. Newton's Laws of Motion
5. The Ether
6. Maxwell's Equations
Appendix I : Newton's Laws of Motion
Appendix II: Clerk Maxwell's Equations of the
Electromagnetic Field
CHAPTER III. SCIENTIFIC RELATIVITY
7. Consentient Sets
8. Kinematic Relations
9. Motion through the Ether
10. Formulae for Relative Motion
Appendix: Mathematical Formulae
CHAPTER IV. CONGRUENCE
11. Simultaneity
12. Congruence and Recognition
PART II
THE DATA OF SCIENCE
CHAPTER V. THE NATURAL ELEMENTS
13. The Diversification of Nature
14. Events
15. Objects
CHAPTER VI. EVENTS
16. Apprehension of Events
17. The Constants of Externality
18. Extension
19. Absolute Position
20. The Community of Nature
21. Characters of Events
CHAPTER VII. OBJECTS
22. Types of Objects
23. Sense-Objects
24. Perceptual Objects
25. Scientific Objects
26. Duality of Nature
PART III
THE METHOD OF EXTENSIVE ABSTRACTION
CHAPTER VIII. PRINCIPLES OF THE METHOD OF EXTENSIVE ABSTRACTION
27. The Relation of Extension, Fundamental Properties
28. Intersection, Separation and Dissection
29. The Junction of Events
30. Abstractive Classes
31. Primes and Antiprimes
32. Abstractive Elements
CHAPTER IX. DURATIONS, MOMENTS AND TIME-SYSTEMS
33. Antiprimes, Durations and Moments
34. Parallelism and Time-Systems
35. Levels, Rects, and Puncts
36. Parallelism and Order
CHAPTER X. FINITE ABSTRACTIVE ELEMENTS
37. Absolute Primes and Event-Particles
38. Routes
39. Solids
40. Volumes
CHAPTER XI. POINTS AND STRAIGHT LINES
41. Stations
42. Point-Tracks and Points
43. Parallelism
44. Matrices
45. Null-Tracks
46. Straight Lines
CHAPTER XII. NORMALITY AND CONGRUENCE
47. Normality
48. Congruence
CHAPTER XIII. MOTION
49. Analytic Geometry
50. The Principle of Kinematic Symmetry
51. Transitivity of Congruence
52. The Three Types of Kinematics
PART IV
THE THEORY OF OBJECTS
CHAPTER XIV. THE LOCATION OF OBJECTS
53. Location
54. Uniform Objects
55. Components of Objects
CHAPTER XV. MATERIAL OBJECTS
56. Material Objects
57. Stationary Events
58. Motion of Objects
59. Extensive Magnitude
CHAPTER XVI. CAUSAL COMPONENTS
60. Apparent and Causal Components
61. Transition from Appearance to Cause
CHAPTER XVII. FIGURES
62. Sense-Figures
63. Geometrical Figures
CHAPTER XVIII. RHYTHMS
64. Rhythms
Notes
Displaying 1 of 1 review