Academic Journal
Whitehead's Harvard Legacy: Its Possible Implications for Artificial Intelligence.
| Title: | Whitehead's Harvard Legacy: Its Possible Implications for Artificial Intelligence. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Desmet, Ronny |
| Source: | Process Studies; 2025, Vol. 54 Issue 2, p165-189, 25p |
| Subject Terms: | Artificial intelligence, Philosophers, Modern philosophy, Theory (Philosophy), Awareness |
| Company/Entity: | Harvard University |
| Abstract: | Almost one hundred years ago, on September 25, 1924, Whitehead gave his first lecture as a professional philosopher in Emerson Hall at Harvard University. In his first Harvard lecture, Whitehead emphasized the claim that all things are interconnected (HL1 44) and that reality is a process that brings about the fluent togetherness of things (HL1 50–51). It was the germ of what would become a vast philosophical oeuvre. Also, nearly one hundred years ago, on February 9, 1925, John Cobb was born, and Cobb's intellectual career makes him Whitehead's most prominent heir. He epitomizes the current relevance of Whitehead's process philosophy in a wide variety of contexts—process theology, religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue, sustainable economics and a fair monetary system, general nonprofit education, nonreductionist biology and evolutionary theory, ecological civilization, and so on. It is difficult to choose just one concept from Whitehead's vast Harvard legacy and to hint at its relevance in a new context. I will highlight the key concept of "prehension," of which Cobb wrote: "Prehension may be the single most important and original concept in Whitehead's philosophy" (31). I will hint at the relevance of this concept in the context of the much-discussed claim that artificial intelligence will equal or surpass human intelligence. According to Whitehead, speculative philosophers imaginatively generalize from particular topics (PR 16) and test the success of their imaginative experiment by the applicability of its results beyond the restricted locus from which it originated (PR 5). Whitehead's speculative concept of prehension is a major illustration. It originated from field physics, was imaginatively generalized by Whitehead in Process and Reality, and can be applied beyond physics, for example, when comparing artificial with human intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Process Studies is the property of Center for Process Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Complementary Index |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: edb DbLabel: Complementary Index An: 188876899 RelevancyScore: 1023 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 1023.08752441406 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Whitehead's Harvard Legacy: Its Possible Implications for Artificial Intelligence. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Desmet%2C+Ronny%22">Desmet, Ronny</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: Process Studies; 2025, Vol. 54 Issue 2, p165-189, 25p – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Artificial+intelligence%22">Artificial intelligence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Philosophers%22">Philosophers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Modern+philosophy%22">Modern philosophy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Theory+%28Philosophy%29%22">Theory (Philosophy)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Awareness%22">Awareness</searchLink> – Name: SubjectCompany Label: Company/Entity Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="CO" term="%22Harvard+University%22">Harvard University</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Almost one hundred years ago, on September 25, 1924, Whitehead gave his first lecture as a professional philosopher in Emerson Hall at Harvard University. In his first Harvard lecture, Whitehead emphasized the claim that all things are interconnected (HL1 44) and that reality is a process that brings about the fluent togetherness of things (HL1 50–51). It was the germ of what would become a vast philosophical oeuvre. Also, nearly one hundred years ago, on February 9, 1925, John Cobb was born, and Cobb's intellectual career makes him Whitehead's most prominent heir. He epitomizes the current relevance of Whitehead's process philosophy in a wide variety of contexts—process theology, religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue, sustainable economics and a fair monetary system, general nonprofit education, nonreductionist biology and evolutionary theory, ecological civilization, and so on. It is difficult to choose just one concept from Whitehead's vast Harvard legacy and to hint at its relevance in a new context. I will highlight the key concept of "prehension," of which Cobb wrote: "Prehension may be the single most important and original concept in Whitehead's philosophy" (31). I will hint at the relevance of this concept in the context of the much-discussed claim that artificial intelligence will equal or surpass human intelligence. According to Whitehead, speculative philosophers imaginatively generalize from particular topics (PR 16) and test the success of their imaginative experiment by the applicability of its results beyond the restricted locus from which it originated (PR 5). Whitehead's speculative concept of prehension is a major illustration. It originated from field physics, was imaginatively generalized by Whitehead in Process and Reality, and can be applied beyond physics, for example, when comparing artificial with human intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: Abstract Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Process Studies is the property of Center for Process Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.5406/21543682.54.2.03 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 25 StartPage: 165 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Harvard University Type: general – SubjectFull: Artificial intelligence Type: general – SubjectFull: Philosophers Type: general – SubjectFull: Modern philosophy Type: general – SubjectFull: Theory (Philosophy) Type: general – SubjectFull: Awareness Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Whitehead's Harvard Legacy: Its Possible Implications for Artificial Intelligence. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Desmet, Ronny IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 09 Text: 2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 03606503 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 54 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Process Studies Type: main |
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