The Myriad-Minded Soul
Whitehead. Shakespeare, and the Enjoyment of Contrasts
Striving for Subjective Intensity through Contrasts
In Process and Reality, Whitehead suggests that all actual entities strive for subjective intensity—they aim to feel as fully alive as possible in the fleeting moments of their existence.
To explain this, Whitehead introduces the "Category of Subjective Intensity," proposing that such intensity arises through contrasts. These contrasts are formed between potentialities, known as eternal objects, and develop into what Whitehead calls “contrasts of contrasts,” generating higher levels of complexity. Whitehead writes:
The Category of Subjective Intensity. The subjective aim, whereby there is origination of conceptual feeling, is at‡ intensity of feeling in the immediate subject, and in the relevant future. We first note (i) that intensity of feeling due to any realized ingression of an eternal object is heightened when that eternal object is one element in a realized contrast between eternal objects, and (ii) that two or more contrasts may be incompatible for joint ingression, or may jointly enter into a higher contrast. It follows that balanced complexity is the outcome of this Category of Subjective Aim. Here ‘complexity’ means the realization of contrasts, of contrasts of contrasts, and so on; and ‘balance’ means the absence of attenuations due to the elimination of contrasts which some elements in the pattern would introduce and other elements inhibit. (Process and Reality, pp. 277-278, Kindle Edition)
In this framework, the interplay of contrasts is not about eliminating difference but about enriching experience through the dynamic tension between elements. Whitehead’s notion of "balanced complexity" involves maintaining this tension without suppressing any aspect of the pattern, allowing richness of experience to emerge.
Myriad-Mindedness: A State of Dynamic Awareness
To bring this concept to life, consider a state of mind where contrasts and “contrasts of contrasts” are directly felt: myriad-mindedness. This term refers to a mind engaged with multiple layers of thought, sensation, memory, and emotion, all unfolding simultaneously. In myriad-mindedness, contrasts are not just intellectual abstractions—they are vivid experiences, like listening to a symphony while being aware of each instrument, sensing the tension between dissonance and harmony, and recognizing how one melodic phrase transforms another.
In this state, the mind becomes a dynamic field of relationships, alive with complexity. Contrasts between past and present, joy and sorrow, or anticipation and reflection emerge, evolving into even richer contrasts of contrasts. Just as one melody can contain echoes of others, myriad-mindedness allows experiences to resonate with one another, forming new meanings through layered interactions. This state embodies Whitehead’s idea of balanced complexity, where richness arises from holding opposites in tension rather than suppressing them.
The term myriad-minded first appeared in English in the writings of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who described Shakespeare as “μύριόνους”—a person with a vast and multifaceted mind. Coleridge recognized Shakespeare’s genius in perceiving life from many perspectives, capturing the full range of human experience. A related term, myriad-wise, coined by D. H. Lawrence, suggests a broader, more intuitive wisdom. While myriad-mindedness reflects intellectual breadth, myriad-wisdom implies practical insight—an ability to engage with life’s complexity through openness, attentiveness, and acceptance of ambiguity.
Contrasts of Contrasts of Contrasts
Whitehead’s notion of “contrasts of contrasts of contrasts” helps us appreciate the depth of myriad-mindedness. Contrasts, in his metaphysics, are not mere oppositions but creative tensions that yield heightened forms of beauty and richness. Myriad-minded individuals are especially adept at perceiving and developing these contrasts, embracing nuance and ambiguity in ways that generate new possibilities. This capacity enriches life, fostering appreciation for the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate elements—achieving what Whitehead calls intensity of experience or richness of feeling.
Such individuals approach life with curiosity and openness rather than rigid moral obligations. Their love for life begins with a desire to see and feel the many-sidedness of things. If they are ethically minded, their curiosity may evolve into compassion, fostering the flourishing of as many elements of life as possible. But their engagement with the world always begins with wonder—an impulse to let life’s multiplicity reveal itself on its own terms.
Myriad-Minded Shakespeare
Coleridge’s insight into Shakespeare’s myriad-mindedness shows how reading Shakespeare can cultivate similar qualities in us. Shakespeare’s works not only display intellectual depth but also offer emotional breadth, capturing the full spectrum of human emotions—grief, joy, rage, jealousy, and love. His characters invite us into empathetic encounters with the human condition, helping us recognize these emotions within ourselves and others, a process essential for personal growth and social harmony.
Shakespeare’s language, with its poetic richness and inventiveness, also encourages mindfulness. Engaging with his words requires slowing down, practicing the art of careful attention—a skill vital in today’s fast-paced world, where nuance is often lost.
His plays challenge us to confront societal structures, explore moral dilemmas, and wrestle with questions of power, identity, and justice—issues that remain relevant today.
Rather than offering easy answers, Shakespeare sparks reflection and dialogue, reminding us that moral clarity often lies beyond simple binaries. His characters, full of contradictions, reflect the complexity of human experience, reinforcing process philosophy’s understanding that life is not static but dynamic, always evolving.
In this way, Shakespeare becomes a valuable resource for cultivating myriad-mindedness. His works train us to recognize multiplicity within ourselves and the world, fostering a spirit of openness to difference. This openness is crucial for personal transformation and relational love—the kind of love that invites participation in the richness of life’s unfolding.
The Divine Lure toward Myriad-Mindedness
Process theologians invite us to imagine that the very soul of the universe—God—is both myriad-minded and myriad-wise. God’s love is enriched by the world’s diversity, reflecting the lure of divine love, which is also our innermost call to become fully human. This divine lure invites us to engage with life’s plurality and multiplicity, seeing the world as a dynamic field of relationships rather than a set of rigid categories.
Reading Shakespeare aligns with this theological vision. Shakespeare’s characters reveal life in all its contradictions, reminding us that human existence is a process of becoming, not a state of being. His works do not offer solutions to life’s dilemmas but reflect its complexity, inviting us to embrace the uncertainties that come with change and transformation. In doing so, Shakespeare’s plays resonate with the improvisational spirit of process philosophy, where meaning emerges through relationship, contrast, and change.
Reading Shakespeare as a Spiritual Practice
Reading Shakespeare can be seen as a spiritual practice—a way of engaging the world as an unfinished project, where each person, like each character, must improvise their way forward. This improvisational approach resonates with process philosophy’s view that life unfolds moment by moment, offering fresh possibilities at every turn.
The myriad-minded individual sees beauty not in certainty but in the adventure of life, where meaning arises from contrast and change. Compassion becomes a natural response to this recognition—not a duty, but a way of participating in the world’s richness, affirming the value of each unique experience and creature. Compassion means allowing things to flourish in their own way, without forcing them into predetermined categories.
To be myriad-minded is not only to think broadly but also to live in a way that honors the multiplicity of life. It means being attuned to the sacredness of difference, recognizing that life’s beauty lies in its contrasts and tensions, not in resolution. Just as Shakespeare’s plays offer no final answers but invite us into deeper reflection, the myriad-minded person finds meaning not in closure but in the ongoing dance of thought, feeling, and experience.
- Jay McDaniel
In Process and Reality, Whitehead suggests that all actual entities strive for subjective intensity—they aim to feel as fully alive as possible in the fleeting moments of their existence.
To explain this, Whitehead introduces the "Category of Subjective Intensity," proposing that such intensity arises through contrasts. These contrasts are formed between potentialities, known as eternal objects, and develop into what Whitehead calls “contrasts of contrasts,” generating higher levels of complexity. Whitehead writes:
The Category of Subjective Intensity. The subjective aim, whereby there is origination of conceptual feeling, is at‡ intensity of feeling in the immediate subject, and in the relevant future. We first note (i) that intensity of feeling due to any realized ingression of an eternal object is heightened when that eternal object is one element in a realized contrast between eternal objects, and (ii) that two or more contrasts may be incompatible for joint ingression, or may jointly enter into a higher contrast. It follows that balanced complexity is the outcome of this Category of Subjective Aim. Here ‘complexity’ means the realization of contrasts, of contrasts of contrasts, and so on; and ‘balance’ means the absence of attenuations due to the elimination of contrasts which some elements in the pattern would introduce and other elements inhibit. (Process and Reality, pp. 277-278, Kindle Edition)
In this framework, the interplay of contrasts is not about eliminating difference but about enriching experience through the dynamic tension between elements. Whitehead’s notion of "balanced complexity" involves maintaining this tension without suppressing any aspect of the pattern, allowing richness of experience to emerge.
Myriad-Mindedness: A State of Dynamic Awareness
To bring this concept to life, consider a state of mind where contrasts and “contrasts of contrasts” are directly felt: myriad-mindedness. This term refers to a mind engaged with multiple layers of thought, sensation, memory, and emotion, all unfolding simultaneously. In myriad-mindedness, contrasts are not just intellectual abstractions—they are vivid experiences, like listening to a symphony while being aware of each instrument, sensing the tension between dissonance and harmony, and recognizing how one melodic phrase transforms another.
In this state, the mind becomes a dynamic field of relationships, alive with complexity. Contrasts between past and present, joy and sorrow, or anticipation and reflection emerge, evolving into even richer contrasts of contrasts. Just as one melody can contain echoes of others, myriad-mindedness allows experiences to resonate with one another, forming new meanings through layered interactions. This state embodies Whitehead’s idea of balanced complexity, where richness arises from holding opposites in tension rather than suppressing them.
The term myriad-minded first appeared in English in the writings of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who described Shakespeare as “μύριόνους”—a person with a vast and multifaceted mind. Coleridge recognized Shakespeare’s genius in perceiving life from many perspectives, capturing the full range of human experience. A related term, myriad-wise, coined by D. H. Lawrence, suggests a broader, more intuitive wisdom. While myriad-mindedness reflects intellectual breadth, myriad-wisdom implies practical insight—an ability to engage with life’s complexity through openness, attentiveness, and acceptance of ambiguity.
Contrasts of Contrasts of Contrasts
Whitehead’s notion of “contrasts of contrasts of contrasts” helps us appreciate the depth of myriad-mindedness. Contrasts, in his metaphysics, are not mere oppositions but creative tensions that yield heightened forms of beauty and richness. Myriad-minded individuals are especially adept at perceiving and developing these contrasts, embracing nuance and ambiguity in ways that generate new possibilities. This capacity enriches life, fostering appreciation for the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate elements—achieving what Whitehead calls intensity of experience or richness of feeling.
Such individuals approach life with curiosity and openness rather than rigid moral obligations. Their love for life begins with a desire to see and feel the many-sidedness of things. If they are ethically minded, their curiosity may evolve into compassion, fostering the flourishing of as many elements of life as possible. But their engagement with the world always begins with wonder—an impulse to let life’s multiplicity reveal itself on its own terms.
Myriad-Minded Shakespeare
Coleridge’s insight into Shakespeare’s myriad-mindedness shows how reading Shakespeare can cultivate similar qualities in us. Shakespeare’s works not only display intellectual depth but also offer emotional breadth, capturing the full spectrum of human emotions—grief, joy, rage, jealousy, and love. His characters invite us into empathetic encounters with the human condition, helping us recognize these emotions within ourselves and others, a process essential for personal growth and social harmony.
Shakespeare’s language, with its poetic richness and inventiveness, also encourages mindfulness. Engaging with his words requires slowing down, practicing the art of careful attention—a skill vital in today’s fast-paced world, where nuance is often lost.
His plays challenge us to confront societal structures, explore moral dilemmas, and wrestle with questions of power, identity, and justice—issues that remain relevant today.
Rather than offering easy answers, Shakespeare sparks reflection and dialogue, reminding us that moral clarity often lies beyond simple binaries. His characters, full of contradictions, reflect the complexity of human experience, reinforcing process philosophy’s understanding that life is not static but dynamic, always evolving.
In this way, Shakespeare becomes a valuable resource for cultivating myriad-mindedness. His works train us to recognize multiplicity within ourselves and the world, fostering a spirit of openness to difference. This openness is crucial for personal transformation and relational love—the kind of love that invites participation in the richness of life’s unfolding.
The Divine Lure toward Myriad-Mindedness
Process theologians invite us to imagine that the very soul of the universe—God—is both myriad-minded and myriad-wise. God’s love is enriched by the world’s diversity, reflecting the lure of divine love, which is also our innermost call to become fully human. This divine lure invites us to engage with life’s plurality and multiplicity, seeing the world as a dynamic field of relationships rather than a set of rigid categories.
Reading Shakespeare aligns with this theological vision. Shakespeare’s characters reveal life in all its contradictions, reminding us that human existence is a process of becoming, not a state of being. His works do not offer solutions to life’s dilemmas but reflect its complexity, inviting us to embrace the uncertainties that come with change and transformation. In doing so, Shakespeare’s plays resonate with the improvisational spirit of process philosophy, where meaning emerges through relationship, contrast, and change.
Reading Shakespeare as a Spiritual Practice
Reading Shakespeare can be seen as a spiritual practice—a way of engaging the world as an unfinished project, where each person, like each character, must improvise their way forward. This improvisational approach resonates with process philosophy’s view that life unfolds moment by moment, offering fresh possibilities at every turn.
The myriad-minded individual sees beauty not in certainty but in the adventure of life, where meaning arises from contrast and change. Compassion becomes a natural response to this recognition—not a duty, but a way of participating in the world’s richness, affirming the value of each unique experience and creature. Compassion means allowing things to flourish in their own way, without forcing them into predetermined categories.
To be myriad-minded is not only to think broadly but also to live in a way that honors the multiplicity of life. It means being attuned to the sacredness of difference, recognizing that life’s beauty lies in its contrasts and tensions, not in resolution. Just as Shakespeare’s plays offer no final answers but invite us into deeper reflection, the myriad-minded person finds meaning not in closure but in the ongoing dance of thought, feeling, and experience.
- Jay McDaniel