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The Harvard Lectures of Alfred North Whitehead, 1925–1927: General Metaphysical Problems of Science

(The Edinburgh Critical Edition of the Complete Works of Alfred North Whitehead, Vol. 2)

Edited by Brian G. Henning, Joseph Petek, and George R. Lucas, Jr.
Publication Date: January 2021

For the first time, Whitehead’s readers will be able to see the development of his philosophy during the crucial period between the publication of Science and the Modern World and his delivery of the Gifford lectures that would become Process and Reality as he tests his theories in a classroom setting. The more than 170 lectures delivered by Whitehead during his 2nd and 3rd years at Harvard provide the long-missing window into critical developments in Whitehead’s thinking during this time. They challenge longstanding speculations about when exactly Whitehead developed some of his most famous metaphysical concepts, and how those concepts are to be properly interpreted against the wider backdrop of his life and thought.

Also included is a transcript of the only known lecture Whitehead delivered on the topic of ethics, two mid-year exams given to his students, and nearly 2,000 footnotes that provide additional context for the lectures and alternative student accounts of key passages.