The collection of papers of this book discuss Whitehead's bold theory of perception from different angles. According to the major perspectives the book is divided into two major parts: the philosophical and the psychological perspective. The four philosophical papers focus on: the relation between Whitehead's theory of perception and his account of the phases of concrescence, the nature of causal explanations in Whitehead's theory of perception, a comparative study on Kitaro Nishida's philosophy of pure experience and Whitehead's philosophy of perception, and a contrasting account of Whitehead's theory of perception with that of Deleuze. In the five papers of part II of the book ("the psychological perspective"), some basic guidelines for conducting process-oriented psychological experiments on perceptgenesis are given. Then Whitehead's tri-modal theory of perception in the light of microgenetic research results is discussed. A comparison of Whitehead's position of the construction of solid objects with Piaget's account of the constructive development of the 'object permanent' in the young child follows. In the fourth paper James Gibson's early position on perception is compared with Whitehead's account. Finally it is shown that Whitehead's theory of perception may provide a mode of access to nonordinary experiences and an explanation for the emergence of nonordinary states of consciousness.

Contents:

David Roy: The Correlation of the Modes of Perception and the Phases of Concrescence in Whitehead's Cosmology
Randy Ramal: Creating Meaning: Whitehead on Perception, Language, and Causal Explanation
Tokiyuki Nobuhara: A Whiteheadian Reinterpretation of Nishida's Philosophy of Pure Experience: With the Concept of Symbolic Reference as Guide
Keith Robinson: The 'View from Nowhere': Deleuze, Whitehead and the Process Point of View of Perception
Gudmund Smith: A Vademecum for Experimental Process Research
Franz Riffert: Whitehead's Theory of Perception in the Light of Microgenetic Research
Franz Riffert: Whitehead and Piaget on the Construction of Permanent Objects
Michael Katzko: A Process Interpretation of Gibson's Theories of Perception
John Buchanan: The Depths of Perception.

Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, 2007. 233 pp., num.
fig. and tables, 2 col. fig.
ISBN 978-3-631-53546-2 / US-ISBN 978-0-8204-7684-1 pb.

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SFR 62.00 / €* 42.50 / €** 43.70 / € 39.70 / £ 25.80 / US-$ 51.95 

Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy is one of the most creative and promising approaches developed in the 20th century. Being a scholar who for most of his professional life worked in the fields of logic, mathematics, and physics it was one of Whitehead’s major intentions to exemplarily demonstrate the possibility of the creative interplay between metaphysics and other disciplines such as aestethics, ethics, theology and especially the single sciences. One scientific field which he never lost interest in during his whole life was education, a key domain for prospering societies

In this book a selection of 15 papers explores Whitehead’s educational ideas which are based on his radical process approach. Following the Introduction which presents Whitehead’s criticism of traditional education and the false psychology which it is based on, the book is divided into two major parts. The first part deals with Whitehead’s philosophically inspired alternative theoretical framework for learning and education. Special focus is layed on the concept of the learning process which according to Whitehead is essentially cyclic in nature. In the second part it is shown how Whitehead’s ideas can profitably be applied to different sub-domains within education: management education, college education and evalutation.

The book shows that Whitehead’s process approach offers a promising alternative to traditional education.

Franz G. Riffert has studied philosophy, theology, psychology and education at Salzburg University, Austria. He received grants to study at the Catholic University of Eichstätt (Germany) and at the Center for Process Studies (USA). Since 1995 he has been working at the Department for Educational Research and Cultural Sociology at Salzburg University. His interests focus on studies in empirical education (diagnosis, intervention, methods of instruction, teacher training, school development, and self-evaluation) and the philosophical foundations of education (with special emphasis on the works of A. N. Whitehead and K. R: Popper).

ISBN: 1904303579 Binding: Hardback 01 October 2005

UK: £44.99 US: $89.99  See: http://www.cambridgescholarspress.com/