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.

Order online: http://www.peterlang.com/
SFR 62.00 / €* 42.50 / €** 43.70 / € 39.70 / £ 25.80 / US-$ 51.95 

The Whitehead Research Project (WRP) is dedicated to the research of, and scholarship on, the texts, philosophy and life of Alfred North Whitehead. It explores and analyzes the relevance of Whitehead’s thought in dialogue with contemporary philosophies in order to unfold his philosophy of organism and its consequences for our time and in relation to emerging philosophical thought. Of particular interest is the investigation into the emergence of Whitehead’s philosophy in the context of British and American pragmatism, its complicated relation to Continental philosophy and the analytic tradition, the relevance of his thought in the discourse of post-modern paradigms of deconstruction and post-structuralism, and its creative impulse for developing process philosophies. Additionally, following Whitehead’s own inclination to reach beyond European modes of thought, WRP extends its horizon of research by fostering similar conversations with strains of Indian and East Asian thought while exhibiting de facto mutual influence – e.g., with the Kyoto School of Buddhist philosophy.

In encouraging a fresh and bold approach towards the ever-expanding possibility suggested by Whitehead’s written material, both published and unpublished, WRP is committed to the continuing adventures of his ideas across disciplines. In doing so, the mission of WRP follows Whitehead’s impulse to understand the distinct endeavor of philosophy "to conceive the infinite variety of specific instances which rest unrealized in the womb of nature” (Process and Reality, 17) and “to maintain an active novelty of fundamental ideas illuminating the social system.” (Modes of Thought, 174) In its broader aim to understand and further civilization, philosophy “is seeking, amid the dim recesses of [our] ape-like consciousness and beyond the reach of dictionary language, for the premises implicit in all reasoning.” This endeavour is “dangerous, easily perverted. So is all Adventure; but Adventure belongs to the essence of civilization.” (Adventures of Ideas, 295)

http://www.whiteheadresearch.org

The first event of the WRP will be a conference :

 "Event & Decision: Ontology and Politics in Badiou, Deleuze, and Whitehead."

 Details available at http://whiteheadresearch.org/event-and-decision/

Michel Weber of the Centre for Philosophical Practice has founded a new program of "Philosophical Counseling" based on Western Philosophy in general, and Whitehead's thought in particular.
From the brochure:

"The Centre welcomes individuals in their quest for meaning, be it global or local. Diagrammatically, this quest can present itself as an existential crisis or as a more limited problem—whatever its nature (depression, behavioural, mourning, ethical legitimation of a decision…)"

Informational Brochure (PDF)

See also http://chromatika.org/

Contact: info@chromatika.org

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/