Big Things from Little Things? The Problem of the Compound Individual
Keywords:
Compound individuals, Fundamental Ontology, Whitehead, Hartshorne, Cobb, Bracken, Ford, WolfAbstract
This paper deals with work done last century and early this century on a problem of fundamental ontology from within the broad process relational ‘research program’. This is the problem usually termed in process circles ‘the problem of compound individuals’. The viewpoints taken by the following are outlined briefly: Whitehead and Donald Sherburne (all real entities microscopic); Hartshorne/Cobb (large events with regional inclusion); Joseph Bracken (equi-primordial fields); George Wolf (large events without regional inclusion: marbles in jelly); Lewis Ford both early (sub-occasions) and recent (included and inclusive occasions); and also some non-Whiteheadian and even anti-Whiteheadian process views (Ivor Leclerc, Nicholas Rescher, Reto Lezius Fetz, George Lucas, James Felt). It concludes, very provisionally, that events seem to be moving in the direction of a layered or multi-level ontology, to allow ontologically ‘equiprimordial’ realities of different levels and sizes with dependencies going in all directions. This seems to fit with some recent work done in process circles in Australia (esp. Gare and Douglas) and also Europe. Finally, there are some remarks on the importance of the question well beyond fundamental ontology, for application to the mind-body problem, in social and political theory and with respect to various questions in theology.
References
Bogaard, Paul A., 1992. "Whitehead and the Survival of 'Subordinate Societies'". Process Studies, Vol. 21, No. 4, Winter 1992. Pp. 219-226. On Leclerc and Whitehead and what is at stake.
Bracken, Joseph. A., 1989. "Energy Events and Fields". Process Studies, Vol. 18, No. 3, Fall 1989. Pp. 153-165.
Bracken, Joseph, 1990. "The World: Body of God or Field of Cosmic Activity?". In Charles Hartshorne's Concept of God, edited Santiago Sia, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1990. Pp. 80-102.
Bracken, Joseph, 1994. “Proposals for Overcoming the Atomism Within Process-Relational Metaphysics.” Process Studies, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1994, pp. 10 – 24.
Bracken, Joseph, 1998. “Revising Process Metaphysics in Response to Ian Barbour’s Critique”. Zygon, Vol. 33, No. 3 (September 1998) pp. 405-414.
Bracken, Joseph, 2001. “Supervenience and Basic Christian Beliefs”. Zygon, Vol. 36, No. 1 (March 2001). Pp. 137-152.
Cobb, John B., Jr., 1984. "Overcoming Reductionism". Ch. 8 of Existence and Actuality: Conversations with Charles Hartshorne, edited John B. Cobb, Jr. and Franklin I. Gamwell. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1984, Pp. 149-166.
Cobb, John B., Jr. and Donald W. Sherburne, 1972. "Regional Inclusion and the Extensive Continuum". Process Studies, Vol 2, No. 4, Winter 1972. Pp. 277-295.
Cobb, John B., Jr. and Donald W. Sherburne, 1973. "Regional Inclusion and Psychological Physiology". Process Studies, Vol 3, No. 1, Spring 1973. Pp. 27-40.
Eiswert, James William, 1987. Space, Time and Consciousness. Doctoral dissertation, Leuven, 1987.
Felt, James W. 1988. “Intuitions, Event-Atomism and the Self”. Chapter VIII of Process in Context: Essays in Post-Whiteheadian Perspectives. Edited by Ernest Wolf-Gazo. Peter Lang, New York, 1988, pp. 137-152.
Fetz, Reto Luzius, 1991. "In Critique of Whitehead". Process Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, Spring 1991. Pp. 1-9.
Ford, Lewis S., 1969. "On Genetic Successiveness: A Third Alternative". Southern Journal of Philosophy, Winter 1969, pp 421-425.
Ford, Lewis S., 1973. Review of Ivor Leclerc, The Nature of Physical Existence, in Process Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer 1973. Pp. 104-117.
Ford, Lewis S., 1988. “Inclusive Occasions”. Chapter VII of Process in Context: Essays in Post-Whiteheadian Perspectives. Edited by Ernest Wolf-Gazo. Peter Lang, New York, 1988, pp. 107-136.
Ford, Lewis S., 1990. "Efficient Causation Within Concrescence". Process Studies, Vol, 19, No. 3, Fall 1990. Pp. 167-180.
Ford, Lewis S., 1999. “Locating Atomicity”. Process Studies Supplement, December 1999, pp. 1-58.
Ford, Lewis S., 2000. Transforming Process Theism. State University of New York Press, New York, 2000.
Gallagher, William, 1974. "Whitehead's Psychological Physiology: A Third View". Process Studies, Vol. 4, No. 4, Winter 1974. Pp. 263-274. A revised version of Sherburne/Whitehead.
Griffin, David Ray, 1989. "Charles Hartshorne's Postmodern Philosophy". In Hartshorne, Process Philosophy and Theology, edited Robert Kane and Stephen H. Phillips, SUNY, N.Y., 1989. Pp. 7-10.
Hartshorne, Charles, 1972. Whitehead's Philosophy Selected Essays, 1935-1970. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1972. Chapter Four "The Compound Individual", pp.41-61.
Leclerc, Ivor, 1972. The Nature of Physical Existence. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1972. Ch. 24 "The Physical Existent, Simple and Compound", pp 297-313.
Leclerc, Ivor, 1986. The Philosophy of Nature. Catholic Univ. of America Press, Washington, D.C., 1986. Ch. 10 "The Physical Existent as a Compound Actuality", pp. 130-138.
Lucas, George R., Jr., 1989. The Rehabilitation of Whitehead. State University of New York Press, Albany, N.Y., 1989.
McHenry, Leemon, 1996. “Descriptive and Revisionary Theories of Events”. Process Studies, Volume 25, 1996, pp. 90-103.
Rescher, Nicholas, 1996. Process Metaphysics: An Introduction to Process Philosophy. SUNY Press, N.Y., 1996.
Sherburne, Donald W., 1969. "Whitehead's Psychological Physiology". Southern Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 7, No. 4, Winter, 1969. Pp. 401-407.
Whitehead, Alfred North, 1929. Process and Reality. Macmillan, N.Y. Corrected edition, edited by David Ray Griffin and Donald W. Sherburne, Macmillan, N.Y., 1978.
Wolf, George, 1981. "Psychological Physiology From the Standpoint of a Physiological Psychologist". Process Studies, Vol. 11, No. 4, 1981. Pp. 274-291.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Greg Moses
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
