Rethinking Whitehead’s Symbolism: Thought, Language, Culture

This collection of essays explores the contemporary significance of Alfred North Whitehead’s book Symbolism: Its Meaning and Effect. Given the recent and rapid changes in modern science, culture, and technology, as well as the recent upsurge of interest in the work of Whitehead (particularly among continental philosophers), this reexamination of his thought is more timely than ever, situating Whitehead’s arguments within the contemporary intellectual scene.Whitehead’s Symbolism is often neglected in favor of studies of Process and Reality. Symbolism, however, is unique in several ways: it relates the question of symbolization to a complex interplay of modes of perception; it integrates language—whether written or spoken—into its field of manifestations, and it harbors the only example of a direct application of Whitehead’s theory of prehension to issues of the construction of human society and, indirectly, ecology.In reconsidering Whitehead’s book, this collection of essays will address the question of symbolization and its complex to modes of perception, and how these modes in turn relate to language—whether written or spoken. By drawing from a number of disciplines, Rethinking Whitehead’s Symbolism sets the stage for further discussions on the contemporary meaning and effects of symbolism. The variety of themes addressed in these essays illustrate the varied and fruitful ways in which Whitehead’s thought can illuminate and contribute to contemporary discussions.