What do you think?
Rate this book
A Key to Whitehead's Process and Reality
Whitehead's magnum opus is as important as it is difficult. It is the only work in which his metaphysical ideas are stated systematically and completely, and his metaphysics are the heart of his philosophical system as a whole. Sherburne has rearranged the text in a way designed to lead the student logically and coherently through the intricacies of the system without losing the vigor of Whitehead's often brilliant prose.
"The Key renders Process and Reality pedagogically accessible for the first time."— Journal of Religion
"The Key renders Process and Reality pedagogically accessible for the first time."— Journal of Religion
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
23 people are currently reading
299 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 17, 2009
Whitehead is still THE philosopher for the modern/information age, but he was terrible as a writer. Stodgy, turgid, dense, repetitive and yet some how always out of order.
Still, though he long predated cellular automata theory, he created a philosophy/theology out of them that really could be the modern religion, because even atheists would largely agree with his views and at its core it is very deep. His major work, defining reality as a result of an ongoing cellular automata process, is called "Process and Reality". But, in order to get through this book, you must have Sherburne as your guide. Really, Sherburne's book is a life saver.
Whitehead's "Process Theology" is really a description of the world/reality as composed of "local" (where local depends on scale) computation of cellular automata at all levels/scales. At the lowest level, local processing is influenced by local events and produces a weighted "decision" influenced by those events. At higher and higher level, you get a kind of fractal combination ("society of occasions") of these automata which are themselves cellular automata at a higher scale and the decisions become more and more what we think of as "free", "self aware" and "autonomous". All such more complex automata are bottom up (they inherit the output of their lower parts, just like you "are" your cells) and bottom down constraints (higher level decisions constrain the possibilities of the lower levels just as your cells travel where you want to go and eat what you decide to eat).
This chain of autonoma is seen as continuing up to the entire universe where "God" is posited as the sum of all lower automata. Obviously we are constrained by our known local higher automata (our society, economy, ecological systems). So what would this "God" at the "top" constrain? In White head, the possibilities and a drive for ever deeper, greater experience and expressability. Basically expanding creativity itself.
One could see a "church" service for Whitehead's "religion" as something akin to Burning man -- celebrating art and creativity.
Still, though he long predated cellular automata theory, he created a philosophy/theology out of them that really could be the modern religion, because even atheists would largely agree with his views and at its core it is very deep. His major work, defining reality as a result of an ongoing cellular automata process, is called "Process and Reality". But, in order to get through this book, you must have Sherburne as your guide. Really, Sherburne's book is a life saver.
Whitehead's "Process Theology" is really a description of the world/reality as composed of "local" (where local depends on scale) computation of cellular automata at all levels/scales. At the lowest level, local processing is influenced by local events and produces a weighted "decision" influenced by those events. At higher and higher level, you get a kind of fractal combination ("society of occasions") of these automata which are themselves cellular automata at a higher scale and the decisions become more and more what we think of as "free", "self aware" and "autonomous". All such more complex automata are bottom up (they inherit the output of their lower parts, just like you "are" your cells) and bottom down constraints (higher level decisions constrain the possibilities of the lower levels just as your cells travel where you want to go and eat what you decide to eat).
This chain of autonoma is seen as continuing up to the entire universe where "God" is posited as the sum of all lower automata. Obviously we are constrained by our known local higher automata (our society, economy, ecological systems). So what would this "God" at the "top" constrain? In White head, the possibilities and a drive for ever deeper, greater experience and expressability. Basically expanding creativity itself.
One could see a "church" service for Whitehead's "religion" as something akin to Burning man -- celebrating art and creativity.
March 8, 2017
A Key to Whitehead's Process and Reality by Donald W. Sherburne is a great guide to Whitehead's philosophy! Alfred North Whitehead's book Process and Reality (commonly referred to as PR) is extremely difficult to read.[1] PR is rich and suggestive, but its opacity is monumental.[2] The text of PR is in very poor condition. Whitehead refused to have anything to do with the publishing process.[3]
Background
The challenge Donald W. Sherburne faced was to make the philosophy of PR more accessible than it is in the original.[4] The book is, however, not just a series of comments about Whitehead. Sherburne makes sure that Whitehead speaks himself by drawing together Whitehead's scattered observations topic by topic.[5] Sherburne doesn't give an exhaustive account of all aspects of Whitehead's philosophy, and he doesn't attempt a critical evaluation of what it does present.[6] Sherburne has, however, added many explanatory paragraphs. He has also added several helpful diagrams not to be found in PR.[7]
Actual Entities
Whitehead presents an organic philosophy where actual entities, or actual occasions, are organisms that grow, mature, and perishes. The whole of PR is concerned with describing the characteristics and interrelationships between these actual entities.[8] There is, according to Whitehead, no going behind actual entities to find anything more real. Whitehead's presumption is that there is only one genus of actual entities.[9] An actual entity is furthermore a process. It's not describable in terms of 'stuff.'[10]
Organism and Reason
Whitehead's doctrine of organism is an attempt to describe the world as a process of generation of actual entities.[11] Actual entities are the only reasons. This means that to search for a reason is to search for actual entities.[12]
Formative Elements
Actual entities emerges from the interaction of three formative elements. The first is pure potentiality.[13] The second is the Whiteheadian concept of God.[14] And the third formative element is creativity.[15]
Creativity
Creativity is the concept that account for the perpetual creative advance into novelty, which is a cornerstone of Whitehead's process philosophy.[16] Creativity is the outcome of the interdependence of actual entities, the Principle of Relativity, and that every actual entity is superject as well as subject.[17]
Time and Consciousness
Whitehead incorporates the relativity theory in physics into the basic principles of his system. This means that there is no absolute time.[18] It's also important to grasp Whitehead's analysis of consciousness. Consciousness presupposes experience, and not experience consciousness.[19]
Transmutation and Nexus
Transmutation enables Whitehead to move from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic realm. Whitehead analyzes the way actual entities group themselves into aggregates.[20] Transmutation is the operation whereby an aggregate of actual occasions, forming a nexus, is prehended not as a many, but as a unity, as one macrocosmic entity.[21]
Society and Order
A society is a nexus with social order.[22] There is furthermore a hierarchy of societies.[23] A structured society as a whole provides a favourable environment for the subordinate societies which it harbours within itself.[24] Molecules are structured societies, and so are in all probability electrons and protons. But gases are not structured societies.[25]
Life and Conceptual Novelty
A structured society may have more or less 'life.'. The primary meaning of 'life' is the origination of conceptual novelty. A society is only to be termed 'living' in a derivative sense.[26] All societies require interplay with their environment. This interplay takes the form of robbery in the case of living societies.[27] Living societies develop together with other societies which constitute an epoch.[28]
Metaphysics / Speculative Philosophy
I find Whitehead's In Defense of Speculative Philosophy, in the Appendix, particularly interesting.[29] It gives insights into the nature and scope of Whithead's undertaking. It also gives insights into the subject of metaphysics, or speculative philosophy, itself.
Conclusions
Donald W. Sherburne's book is excellent! It takes the reader into the heart of Whithead's philosophy more quickly and easily than would otherwise have been possible. Whitehead is sometimes brilliant, but often incomprehensible. He frequently introduces new bewildering terminology. According to Sherburne, Whitehead is nevertheless often closer to traditional positions than his mode of speaking initially suggests.[30] I am grateful for Sherburne's impressive effort.
Notes:
[1] Donald W. Sherburne, A Key to Whitehead's Process and Reality (The University of chicago Press, 1981, first published 1966), p. 1.¨
[2] Ibid., p. 2.
[3] Ibid., p. 5.
[4] Ibid., p. 2.
[5] Ibid., p. 3.
[6] Ibid..
[7] Ibid., p. 4.
[8] Ibid., p. 6.
[9] Ibid., p. 7.
[10] Ibid., p. 8.
[11] Ibid., p. 17.
[12] Ibid..
[13] Ibid., p. 20.
[14] Ibid., p. 25.
[15] Ibid., p. 32.
[16] Ibid., p. 33.
[17] Ibid., p. 35.
[18] Ibid., p. 38.
[19] Ibid., p. 69.
[20] Ibid., p. 72.
[21] Ibid., p. 73.
[22] Ibid., p. 78.
[23] Ibid., p. 80.
[24] Ibid., p. 84.
[25] Ibid., p. 85.
[26] Ibid., p. 88.
[27] Ibid., p. 91.
[28] Ibid., p. 95.
[29] Ibid., pp. 191--204.
[30] Ibid., p. 126.
Background
The challenge Donald W. Sherburne faced was to make the philosophy of PR more accessible than it is in the original.[4] The book is, however, not just a series of comments about Whitehead. Sherburne makes sure that Whitehead speaks himself by drawing together Whitehead's scattered observations topic by topic.[5] Sherburne doesn't give an exhaustive account of all aspects of Whitehead's philosophy, and he doesn't attempt a critical evaluation of what it does present.[6] Sherburne has, however, added many explanatory paragraphs. He has also added several helpful diagrams not to be found in PR.[7]
Actual Entities
Whitehead presents an organic philosophy where actual entities, or actual occasions, are organisms that grow, mature, and perishes. The whole of PR is concerned with describing the characteristics and interrelationships between these actual entities.[8] There is, according to Whitehead, no going behind actual entities to find anything more real. Whitehead's presumption is that there is only one genus of actual entities.[9] An actual entity is furthermore a process. It's not describable in terms of 'stuff.'[10]
Organism and Reason
Whitehead's doctrine of organism is an attempt to describe the world as a process of generation of actual entities.[11] Actual entities are the only reasons. This means that to search for a reason is to search for actual entities.[12]
Formative Elements
Actual entities emerges from the interaction of three formative elements. The first is pure potentiality.[13] The second is the Whiteheadian concept of God.[14] And the third formative element is creativity.[15]
Creativity
Creativity is the concept that account for the perpetual creative advance into novelty, which is a cornerstone of Whitehead's process philosophy.[16] Creativity is the outcome of the interdependence of actual entities, the Principle of Relativity, and that every actual entity is superject as well as subject.[17]
Time and Consciousness
Whitehead incorporates the relativity theory in physics into the basic principles of his system. This means that there is no absolute time.[18] It's also important to grasp Whitehead's analysis of consciousness. Consciousness presupposes experience, and not experience consciousness.[19]
Transmutation and Nexus
Transmutation enables Whitehead to move from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic realm. Whitehead analyzes the way actual entities group themselves into aggregates.[20] Transmutation is the operation whereby an aggregate of actual occasions, forming a nexus, is prehended not as a many, but as a unity, as one macrocosmic entity.[21]
Society and Order
A society is a nexus with social order.[22] There is furthermore a hierarchy of societies.[23] A structured society as a whole provides a favourable environment for the subordinate societies which it harbours within itself.[24] Molecules are structured societies, and so are in all probability electrons and protons. But gases are not structured societies.[25]
Life and Conceptual Novelty
A structured society may have more or less 'life.'. The primary meaning of 'life' is the origination of conceptual novelty. A society is only to be termed 'living' in a derivative sense.[26] All societies require interplay with their environment. This interplay takes the form of robbery in the case of living societies.[27] Living societies develop together with other societies which constitute an epoch.[28]
Metaphysics / Speculative Philosophy
I find Whitehead's In Defense of Speculative Philosophy, in the Appendix, particularly interesting.[29] It gives insights into the nature and scope of Whithead's undertaking. It also gives insights into the subject of metaphysics, or speculative philosophy, itself.
Conclusions
Donald W. Sherburne's book is excellent! It takes the reader into the heart of Whithead's philosophy more quickly and easily than would otherwise have been possible. Whitehead is sometimes brilliant, but often incomprehensible. He frequently introduces new bewildering terminology. According to Sherburne, Whitehead is nevertheless often closer to traditional positions than his mode of speaking initially suggests.[30] I am grateful for Sherburne's impressive effort.
Notes:
[1] Donald W. Sherburne, A Key to Whitehead's Process and Reality (The University of chicago Press, 1981, first published 1966), p. 1.¨
[2] Ibid., p. 2.
[3] Ibid., p. 5.
[4] Ibid., p. 2.
[5] Ibid., p. 3.
[6] Ibid..
[7] Ibid., p. 4.
[8] Ibid., p. 6.
[9] Ibid., p. 7.
[10] Ibid., p. 8.
[11] Ibid., p. 17.
[12] Ibid..
[13] Ibid., p. 20.
[14] Ibid., p. 25.
[15] Ibid., p. 32.
[16] Ibid., p. 33.
[17] Ibid., p. 35.
[18] Ibid., p. 38.
[19] Ibid., p. 69.
[20] Ibid., p. 72.
[21] Ibid., p. 73.
[22] Ibid., p. 78.
[23] Ibid., p. 80.
[24] Ibid., p. 84.
[25] Ibid., p. 85.
[26] Ibid., p. 88.
[27] Ibid., p. 91.
[28] Ibid., p. 95.
[29] Ibid., pp. 191--204.
[30] Ibid., p. 126.
September 12, 2020
This will be superbly useful for when I tackle Process in Reality itself. Brilliant, and the only reason I'm putting the three stars on this is due to its nature as an abridged version of what I'm sure is a life changing text.
May 23, 2019
Crucial for understanding Whitehead.
August 8, 2023
I found Donald Sherburne’s book, “A Key to Whitehead’s Process and Reality”, to be greatly helpful in efforts to get a handle on Whitehead’s enormously recondite “Process and Reality”. I used my copy of this latter book when I was enrolled as a philosophy major many years ago. I kept the book and periodically read some of it for some 30 to 40 years. However, Sherburne’s little book has helped me tremendously to “tackle” “Process and Reality”.
So far as Whitehead’s philosophy is concerned, it seems to me to come closer to resolving the horrendously mind-boggling conundrum of how mind and matter interrelate than has any other philosopher of whom I have knowledge. Panpsychism, which I think is what Whitehead’s philosophy boils down to, is not without its problems, but Descartes’ radical dualism, John Locke’s strategies, and David Hume’s atheistic skepticism all face greater obstacles, I believe, than Whitehead’s process philosophy.
Notwithstanding my admiration for Whitehead, my harshest criticism of his philosophy is due to his treatment of “God” as an actual entity, largely akin to all other actual entities. I, as a devout theist, with belief in a transcendent Divine Being who is infinitely superior to all other realities, find Whitehead’s ideas about God, to the degree that I understand those ideas, utterly irreverent and highly demeaning of an infinitely superior Creator. Did Whitehead believe in praying to God for inspiration and guidance? With nearly 100 percent certainty, I dare say that he would have believed prayer to be pitifully naïve. Only the Creator Himself is qualified to judge anyone, but when it comes to qualifying for a blessed union with the Divine, I fear that Whitehead has future lifetimes of powerful lessons to learn before his harmony with his Maker is sufficient for anything akin to union with the Divine. At least, Whitehead had the respectability to not entirely dismiss all ideas of God as naïve and childish superstitions.
In spite of my criticisms, Alfred North Whitehead remains my favorite philosopher (in a secular sense), while his notoriously arrogant colleague, Bertrand Russell, had been my favorite philosopher during my rabid diversion into radical agnosticism in decades gone by. Enlightenment (not of the “scientific” variety) was shined upon me during my devout skepticism, and I see reality in a light that had escaped me during former years of searching. Whitehead’s philosophy makes a lot of sense, but where he gets a bit “big for his britches” is when he seeks to tackle the Infinite One – infinitely greater than any “actual entity”, which is where Whitehead tries to assign Him.
So far as Whitehead’s philosophy is concerned, it seems to me to come closer to resolving the horrendously mind-boggling conundrum of how mind and matter interrelate than has any other philosopher of whom I have knowledge. Panpsychism, which I think is what Whitehead’s philosophy boils down to, is not without its problems, but Descartes’ radical dualism, John Locke’s strategies, and David Hume’s atheistic skepticism all face greater obstacles, I believe, than Whitehead’s process philosophy.
Notwithstanding my admiration for Whitehead, my harshest criticism of his philosophy is due to his treatment of “God” as an actual entity, largely akin to all other actual entities. I, as a devout theist, with belief in a transcendent Divine Being who is infinitely superior to all other realities, find Whitehead’s ideas about God, to the degree that I understand those ideas, utterly irreverent and highly demeaning of an infinitely superior Creator. Did Whitehead believe in praying to God for inspiration and guidance? With nearly 100 percent certainty, I dare say that he would have believed prayer to be pitifully naïve. Only the Creator Himself is qualified to judge anyone, but when it comes to qualifying for a blessed union with the Divine, I fear that Whitehead has future lifetimes of powerful lessons to learn before his harmony with his Maker is sufficient for anything akin to union with the Divine. At least, Whitehead had the respectability to not entirely dismiss all ideas of God as naïve and childish superstitions.
In spite of my criticisms, Alfred North Whitehead remains my favorite philosopher (in a secular sense), while his notoriously arrogant colleague, Bertrand Russell, had been my favorite philosopher during my rabid diversion into radical agnosticism in decades gone by. Enlightenment (not of the “scientific” variety) was shined upon me during my devout skepticism, and I see reality in a light that had escaped me during former years of searching. Whitehead’s philosophy makes a lot of sense, but where he gets a bit “big for his britches” is when he seeks to tackle the Infinite One – infinitely greater than any “actual entity”, which is where Whitehead tries to assign Him.
November 19, 2023
A very thorough guide to Whitehead's Process and Reality. Really helps getting into it. I can now, hopefully soon, get into Whitehead's master work itself!
April 16, 2025
never touching the original Process and Reality
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews