Search Results for: Whitehead

It’s no secret that my philosophical – metaphysical – journey was helped along early on by the writing of Robert Pirsig [(1974) “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” and (1991) “Lila“], although I was late to that party, at the turn of the millennium. I’m pretty catholic when it comes to sources of meta-physical … Continue reading “Pirsig, Whitehead, Sneddon & McWatt – Credit Where Credit’s Due”

Just another placeholder post, like the last one from Alan Rayner, this one from Leemon McHenry who, the only time I came across before, was as editor of a collection of articles including Alan Rayner. Anyway this link to a piece reviewing contemporary Critiques of Whitehead’s Metaphysics, including Russell. (Made it pretty clear I’m a … Continue reading “Critiques of Whitehead’s Metaphysics”

I’m beginning to realise that in the UK philosophical canon Whitehead took up the radical empirical monism I associate with James, Bergson, Northrop and Pirsig, and which is seeing a resurgence in those increasingly rejecting a material metaphysics underlying the physical world. New-realists like Smolin, the new-panpsychists like Kastrup, Tononi and the Integrated Information Theorists … Continue reading “The Process Ontology of Whitehead’s Metaphysics”

Nearing the end of my reading of Cheryl Misak’s biography of Frank Ramsey in the chapter Wittgenstein Comes Home [and below, the penultimate chapter on the necessary layering of philosophy]. Previously so far: “Ramseyian Pragmatism” (this post). “A Vienna Interlude“. “The Hypocrisy of Debate“. “Ramsey, Wittgenstein, Gödel and the rest.” Final round-up: “The Best Consequences … Continue reading “Ramseyian Pragmatism”

Cheryl Misak’s biography of “Frank Ramsey – A Sheer Excess of Powers” is proving to be an excellent read. It’s a 500 page tome and is a beautifully presented academic reference work in terms of front and end materials. The main narrative is broken only by occasional elaboration in text box asides, contributed by recognised … Continue reading “Ramsey, Wittgenstein, Gödel and the rest.”

In many discussions of the work of the modern panpsychists (eg Goff and more recently (Bollands) a universal-lifer who posits no distinction between the actions of living and conscious things), I have pleaded for a pan-proto-psychism / pan-proto-living world-view where the proto-stoff is information. One obvious reason is that information exists non-contentiously at all levels … Continue reading “Informational Panpsychism – a Dual-Aspect Monism”

Preamble This is probably as close as I’ll get to an actual review of Tim Bollands “Life the Universe and Consciousness”.  I’ve made significant comments and references here three times already: Problems, Problems – Life, the Universe and Consciousness Life the Universe and Consciousness #2 Life, the Universe and Nothing New Under the Sun? And … Continue reading “The Review at the End of the Universe”