The Harvard Lectures of Alfred North Whitehead, 1924-1925: Philosophical Presuppositions of Science (The Edinburgh Critical Edition of the Complete Works of Alfred North Whitehead) - Softcover

"This is a truly revelatory volume that helps to put more of the various pieces of the puzzle that is Whitehead's philosophical thought together ... It is certain that Whitehead scholars and enthusiasts all stand together in welcoming this valuable contribution." --Adam C. Scarfe, University of Winnipeg, Process Studies

"This volume is an indispensable asset for any Whitehead scholar. The book shall also prove important for people interested in the history of the philosophy of science and the history of philosophy generally, since it tracks many unexpected parallels between Whitehead's specific outlook and the philosophies of Descartes and Spinoza, Leibniz and Kant, Russell and Wittgenstein, Husserl and Bergson. Last but not least, it documents a significant turning point in the philosophical development of one of the most important thinkers of 20th century. " --Rosen Lutskanov, Bulgarian Academy of Science, Balkan Journal of Philosophy

Beginning in September of 1924, Alfred North Whitehead presented a regular course of 85 lectures which concluded in May of 1925. These represent the first ever philosophy lectures he gave and capture him working out the philosophical implications of the remarkable turns physics had taken in his lifetime. This volume finally recreates these lectures by transcribing notes by W. P. Bell, W. E. Hocking and Louise Heath taken at the time - many of which have only recently been discovered and including hundreds of sketches of Whitehead's blackboard diagrams. This is a unique insight into the evolution of Whitehead's thought during the months when he was drafting his seminal work, Science and the Modern World.