The Quantum of Explanation: Whitehead’s Radical Empiricism
The Quantum of Explanation advances a bold new theory of how explanation ought to be understood in philosophical and cosmological inquiries. Using a complete interpretation of Alfred North Whitehead’s philosophical and mathematical writings and an interpretive structure that is essentially new, Auxier and Herstein argue that Whitehead has never been properly understood, nor has the depth and breadth of his contribution to the human search for knowledge been assimilated by his successors. This important book effectively applies Whitehead’s philosophy to problems in the interpretation of science, empirical knowledge, and nature. It develops a new account of philosophical naturalism that will contribute to the current naturalism debate in both Analytic and Continental philosophy. Auxier and Herstein also draw attention to some of the most important differences between the process theology tradition and Whitehead’s thought, arguing in favor of a Whiteheadian naturalism that is more or less independent of theological concerns. This book offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to Whitehead’s philosophy and is an essential resource for students and scholars interested in American philosophy, the philosophy of mathematics and physics, and issues associated with naturalism, explanation and radical empiricism.
About the Author
Dr. Randall Auxier was educated in the philosophy departments of the University of Memphis (B.A. 1986 and M.A. 1988) and Emory University (MA 1991 and Ph.D, 1992). His specialization in semiotics and symbol theory prepared him for a career spanning from extensive work in logic and metaphysics to popular culture and practical ethics, all based on symbolic and semiotic systems. He is the author of many articles and book chapters, and has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited over twenty books. His most recent books Logic: From Images to Digits (2021); As Deep as It Gets: Movies and Metaphysics (2021); and Persuasion: The Real Process of Imaginative Thinking (2021). He has been elected President of the Illinois Philosophical Association and the Southwestern Philosophical Society, and has served as the editor of The Personalist Forum (1997-2006) and The Pluralist (2006-2012). He is currently the Deputy Chief Editor of Eidos: A Journal of the Philosophy of Culture. In 2016 he co-founded the American Institute of Philosophical and Cultural Thought, a 501(c)(3) scholarly private foundation to foster research in humanistic thought, as related especially to the United States.
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