"For there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently."
—William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (Act 5, Scene 1)
—William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (Act 5, Scene 1)
I do not know if process philosophers can endure a toothache patiently, but I do know that they take bodily experience, including bodily pain, seriously. As influenced by Whitehead they offer, as it were, a metaphysics of bodily experience.
At the heart of Whitehead's philosophy is the concept of experience in the mode of causal efficacy—the immediate, felt impact of past events upon present experience. This mode of experience highlights how the past, coming from external sources (including the body), imposes itself upon the present in ways that are not consciously projected but given to experience. These past events, whether they emerge as physical sensations like pain or environmental influences, possess an agency of their own, shaping the present in ways that are often inescapable.
Causal efficacy is particularly evident in bodily experiences, such as the throbbing of a toothache, where the body asserts itself as an external source of influence. This mode of experience reveals how we are shaped by forces beyond our conscious control—forces that are felt as "real" and unavoidable, directly connecting us to the physical and relational fabric of existence. In this way, causal efficacy illuminates the interconnectedness of all entities and the ways in which the past continues to live in the present.
The very idea offers a corrective to three limitations of overly abstract philosophy.
Acknowledging the Agency of the External World:
Many philosophical traditions overly emphasize the human mind's capacity to project meaning onto the world, neglecting the ways external sources—like the body or environment—possess their own agency and assert themselves upon us. Causal efficacy corrects this by showing how past events, including bodily and environmental influences, impose themselves on present experience.
Grounding Abstractions in Lived Experience:
Abstract philosophies often risk detachment from the realities of human life. By attending to causal efficacy, metaphysics remains rooted in the concrete immediacy of lived experience, ensuring that philosophical principles are not disconnected from the felt realities of pain, joy, and relationality.
Recognizing the Relational Nature of Experience:
Causal efficacy reminds us that experience is always relational. Past events, external forces, and bodily sensations are not isolated but are part of a broader web of relationships that shape who we are. This stands in contrast to philosophies that privilege isolated, autonomous subjects and abstract rationality.
Two Kinds of Process Philosophy
Moreover, the idea of causal efficacy resonates with a strand of process philosophy rooted in attention to lived human experience—a tradition known as empirical process philosophy (e.g., Bernard Meland, Bernard Loomer) or, as I prefer, experiential process philosophy. This approach contrasts with speculative process philosophy (e.g., John Cobb, David Ray Griffin), which explores the nature of actualities (and potentialities) beyond immediate experience. While both traditions are part of the process philosophical framework, empirical process philosophy finds Whitehead's ideas particularly illuminating for understanding the nature of lived experience, whereas speculative process philosophy extends his insights to a more universal scope.
Embodied Metaphysics
The empirical strand of process philosophy is especially conducive to an embodied metaphysics. Embodied metaphysics is an approach to philosophy that emphasizes the body and embodied experience as foundational to understanding the nature of reality. It challenges dualistic notions that separate mind and body or physical and metaphysical realms, proposing instead that metaphysical truths are deeply intertwined with, and accessible through, our embodied existence.
At the heart of Whitehead's philosophy is the concept of experience in the mode of causal efficacy—the immediate, felt impact of past events upon present experience. This mode of experience highlights how the past, coming from external sources (including the body), imposes itself upon the present in ways that are not consciously projected but given to experience. These past events, whether they emerge as physical sensations like pain or environmental influences, possess an agency of their own, shaping the present in ways that are often inescapable.
Causal efficacy is particularly evident in bodily experiences, such as the throbbing of a toothache, where the body asserts itself as an external source of influence. This mode of experience reveals how we are shaped by forces beyond our conscious control—forces that are felt as "real" and unavoidable, directly connecting us to the physical and relational fabric of existence. In this way, causal efficacy illuminates the interconnectedness of all entities and the ways in which the past continues to live in the present.
The very idea offers a corrective to three limitations of overly abstract philosophy.
Acknowledging the Agency of the External World:
Many philosophical traditions overly emphasize the human mind's capacity to project meaning onto the world, neglecting the ways external sources—like the body or environment—possess their own agency and assert themselves upon us. Causal efficacy corrects this by showing how past events, including bodily and environmental influences, impose themselves on present experience.
Grounding Abstractions in Lived Experience:
Abstract philosophies often risk detachment from the realities of human life. By attending to causal efficacy, metaphysics remains rooted in the concrete immediacy of lived experience, ensuring that philosophical principles are not disconnected from the felt realities of pain, joy, and relationality.
Recognizing the Relational Nature of Experience:
Causal efficacy reminds us that experience is always relational. Past events, external forces, and bodily sensations are not isolated but are part of a broader web of relationships that shape who we are. This stands in contrast to philosophies that privilege isolated, autonomous subjects and abstract rationality.
Two Kinds of Process Philosophy
Moreover, the idea of causal efficacy resonates with a strand of process philosophy rooted in attention to lived human experience—a tradition known as empirical process philosophy (e.g., Bernard Meland, Bernard Loomer) or, as I prefer, experiential process philosophy. This approach contrasts with speculative process philosophy (e.g., John Cobb, David Ray Griffin), which explores the nature of actualities (and potentialities) beyond immediate experience. While both traditions are part of the process philosophical framework, empirical process philosophy finds Whitehead's ideas particularly illuminating for understanding the nature of lived experience, whereas speculative process philosophy extends his insights to a more universal scope.
Embodied Metaphysics
The empirical strand of process philosophy is especially conducive to an embodied metaphysics. Embodied metaphysics is an approach to philosophy that emphasizes the body and embodied experience as foundational to understanding the nature of reality. It challenges dualistic notions that separate mind and body or physical and metaphysical realms, proposing instead that metaphysical truths are deeply intertwined with, and accessible through, our embodied existence.
Was Whitehead speculative or experiential?
Was Whitehead speculative or experiential? He was both. On the one hand, Whitehead was deeply attentive to lived human experience, using it as a model for understanding "occasions of experience," which he considered the fundamental units of reality. His philosophy was grounded in the immediacy of experience, and the terms he used to understand an occasion of experience were profoundly human in tone: prehensions as feelings, propositions as lures for feeling, occasions as aiming at satisfaction, "decisions" in the moment as definitive of the essence of actuality. In Adventures of Ideas, he focused particularly on ideals of Goodness, Truth, Beauty, and Peace—concepts deeply relevant to human life and its aspirations. These ideals, for Whitehead, were not abstract notions but guiding principles that shape the trajectory of individual and collective experience.
On the other hand, Whitehead’s speculative scope extended far beyond human life. He was profoundly interested in the fundamental workings of the universe, including how occasions of experience operate within the depths of atoms and across the cosmos. His identification of eight categories of existence—actual occasions, eternal objects, nexus, propositions, contrasts, subjective forms, multiplicities, and the underlying concept of Creativity as the ultimate reality—demonstrates his commitment to articulating a metaphysical vision that encompasses all levels of existence. Moreover, his idea of God as the ultimate actuality reflects a cosmological perspective that seeks to address not only the dynamics of human experience but also the nature of reality as a whole.
In Science and the Modern World, Whitehead arrived at his notion of God primarily on speculative, not experiential, grounds. His concept of God as the "principle of concretion" emerged as a necessary component of his broader metaphysical system, addressing the interplay between order and novelty in the universe. While his later work, such as Process and Reality, incorporated a more nuanced understanding of God that included relational and experiential dimensions, his initial formulations were driven by a speculative attempt to solve the philosophical and scientific puzzles of his time.
In this way, Whitehead’s philosophy bridges the experiential and the speculative, showing that the two are not opposed but interdependent. His work invites us to see the universe as a deeply relational process, where human life is both a microcosm of broader cosmic realities and a unique locus of value and meaning.
On the other hand, Whitehead’s speculative scope extended far beyond human life. He was profoundly interested in the fundamental workings of the universe, including how occasions of experience operate within the depths of atoms and across the cosmos. His identification of eight categories of existence—actual occasions, eternal objects, nexus, propositions, contrasts, subjective forms, multiplicities, and the underlying concept of Creativity as the ultimate reality—demonstrates his commitment to articulating a metaphysical vision that encompasses all levels of existence. Moreover, his idea of God as the ultimate actuality reflects a cosmological perspective that seeks to address not only the dynamics of human experience but also the nature of reality as a whole.
In Science and the Modern World, Whitehead arrived at his notion of God primarily on speculative, not experiential, grounds. His concept of God as the "principle of concretion" emerged as a necessary component of his broader metaphysical system, addressing the interplay between order and novelty in the universe. While his later work, such as Process and Reality, incorporated a more nuanced understanding of God that included relational and experiential dimensions, his initial formulations were driven by a speculative attempt to solve the philosophical and scientific puzzles of his time.
In this way, Whitehead’s philosophy bridges the experiential and the speculative, showing that the two are not opposed but interdependent. His work invites us to see the universe as a deeply relational process, where human life is both a microcosm of broader cosmic realities and a unique locus of value and meaning.