The Concept of Nature
The Concept of Nature is Whitehead’s systematic attempt to rethink the basic categories of natural science—space, time, matter, events, and perception—so that they better reflect how nature is actually experienced and studied. Whitehead argues that nature is fundamentally a field of interrelated events rather than inert bits of matter located in an independent space-time container. He critiques the bifurcation of nature into a world of primary qualities (objective, measurable) and secondary qualities (subjective, experiential), insisting that both belong to one continuous nature. Through analyses of sense-perception, causal relations, and the abstractions used in physical science, he develops a non-substantialist, event-based conception of nature that anticipates his mature process philosophy and offers a philosophical foundation for modern physics.
At a Glance
- Author
- Alfred North Whitehead
- Composed
- 1919–1920
- Language
- English
- Status
- copies only
- •Rejection of the bifurcation of nature: Whitehead argues that the classic distinction between an objective, purely measurable physical world and a separate realm of subjective appearances is incoherent. Qualitative experiences (color, sound, etc.) belong to the same nature as the entities described by physics; the split is a product of abstraction, not an ontological divide.
- •Nature as a nexus of events, not material substances: He claims that the fundamental units of nature are events (occurrences with temporal and spatial extension) rather than enduring substances with fixed properties. Objects and “things” are abstractions from patterns of events, not the basic building blocks of reality.
- •Space and time as relational and abstract: Space and time are not independent containers but relational structures abstracted from the spatio-temporal relations among events. The metric and geometric frameworks of physics are high-level abstractions whose significance depends on their grounding in concrete natural events and perceptions.
- •Analysis of perception as causal efficacy and presentational immediacy: Whitehead distinguishes between the bodily sense of the causal efficacy of the past on the present and the clearer, more spatially ordered presentational immediacy of sense-data. Both are modes of natural relations among events, and understanding perception requires recognizing their interplay.
- •Scientific concepts as abstractions from concrete nature: Whitehead insists that the entities of physics (points, particles, fields, instants) are abstractions that must not be “misplaced” and reified as ultimate realities. Philosophy of nature must constantly refer such abstract schemes back to the more concrete, richly structured events of nature that underlie them.
Historically, The Concept of Nature is a pivotal text in the transition from early analytic philosophy to Whitehead’s mature process metaphysics. It introduces central themes—events, the critique of substances, the rejection of the bifurcation of nature, and the analysis of perception—that are later elaborated in Process and Reality. The book has been influential in process philosophy, philosophy of physics, and environmental philosophy, providing an early, systematic alternative to mechanistic and substance-based views of nature. It also contributes to ongoing debates about scientific realism, the nature of space-time, and the status of qualitative experience in a scientific worldview.
1. Introduction
The Concept of Nature (1920) is Alfred North Whitehead’s systematic attempt to clarify what philosophers and scientists mean by “nature” and how this concept underpins modern scientific practice. Originating in the 1919 Lowell Institute lectures, the work examines how space, time, matter, and perception are conceived when one takes both everyday experience and contemporary physics seriously.
Whitehead’s central concern is the adequacy of inherited concepts—such as substance, material body, absolute space, and absolute time—for describing what scientists actually investigate. He argues that traditional pictures of nature as a collection of self-contained things existing in an independent spatial container sit uneasily with relativity theory and with ordinary perceptual life. In response, he develops an alternative view in which events and their relations form the primary constituents of nature.
The book is usually classified as a work in the philosophy of nature or philosophy of science, standing between early analytic logic and Whitehead’s later process metaphysics. Commentators often treat it as a bridge text: neither a purely technical contribution to logic nor yet a full-blown metaphysical system, but a focused inquiry into how natural science presupposes a coherent, though often unexamined, concept of nature.
2. Historical Context
2.1 Intellectual and Scientific Background
The Concept of Nature emerged during a period marked by upheaval in both physics and philosophy. Theories of special and general relativity had recently challenged Newtonian notions of absolute space and time, while early quantum phenomena were beginning to raise questions about determinism and continuity in nature.
In philosophy, the late 19th- and early 20th-century legacies of British empiricism, neo-Kantianism, and idealism were being contested by new movements such as analytic philosophy and phenomenology. Debates about sense-data, primary and secondary qualities, and scientific realism framed many of the issues Whitehead addresses.
| Context | Key Features Relevant to the Work |
|---|---|
| Physics | Relativity, questions about geometry, space-time, and the status of measurement |
| Philosophy of perception | Sense-data theories, realism vs. idealism, discussion of qualities |
| Logic and foundations | Work of Russell, Frege, and early Wittgenstein on language and structure |
2.2 Position within Early Analytic Philosophy
Whitehead’s project developed alongside, but partly at an angle to, early analytic concerns with language and logical form. While sharing an emphasis on clarity and structure, he focused more directly on the ontological commitments of natural science than many contemporaries, seeking a concept of nature that would be compatible with relativity and with a detailed account of perception.
3. Author and Composition
3.1 Whitehead’s Intellectual Trajectory
Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) was trained as a mathematician, known especially for co‑authoring Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell. Before The Concept of Nature, his work concentrated on mathematical logic and the foundations of physics, including essays on the nature of space, time, and measurement. Commentators often view this period as preparatory for his explicit turn to the philosophy of nature.
3.2 Origin in the Lowell Lectures
The book grew out of the Lowell Institute lectures delivered in Boston in 1919. These public lectures were later revised into a more systematic monograph published by Cambridge University Press in 1920. Scholars note that certain features of the oral presentation—short chapters, relatively direct examples, and recurring summaries—remain visible in the written form.
| Stage | Approximate Date | Character of Work |
|---|---|---|
| Logical and mathematical research | 1890s–1910s | Technical work in algebra, logic, and geometry |
| Lowell lectures on nature | 1919 | Public exposition linking physics and philosophy |
| Publication of The Concept of Nature | 1920 | Revised, more tightly argued treatise |
3.3 Place in Whitehead’s Corpus
Within Whitehead’s writings, The Concept of Nature is often grouped with An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Natural Knowledge (1919) as part of his “philosophy of natural science” phase. Later works such as Process and Reality (1929) elaborate and transform ideas first developed here, especially the centrality of events and critiques of substance and bifurcation.
4. Structure and Organization
The work is organized into a sequence of chapters that progressively refine the concept of nature by examining perception, scientific abstraction, and the structure of space-time. Although exact chapter titles vary by edition, the content can be correlated with the five-part overview used by commentators.
| Analytical Part (Secondary Reconstruction) | Main Topics in the Text |
|---|---|
| I. Introduction and the Problem of Nature | Clarification of “nature”; relation between what is perceived and what is thought; initial statement of the problem |
| II. Nature, Thought, and the Bifurcation Problem | Survey of philosophical and scientific doctrines; development of the idea of bifurcation of nature; critique of primary/secondary quality divide |
| III. Events, Objects, and Space-Time Structure | Formulation of an event ontology; analysis of enduring objects as patterns; relational treatment of space and time |
| IV. The Method of Extensive Abstraction | Technical exposition of extensive abstraction; derivation of points, instants, and continua from overlapping regions |
| V. Perception, Causality, and Unity of Nature | Detailed account of sense-awareness; distinction between presentational immediacy and causal efficacy; integration of perception with event-structure |
Within this progression, earlier analyses of perception and abstraction prepare the ground for more formal accounts of spatial-temporal order. The text alternates between critical discussions of other views and constructive development of Whitehead’s own framework, maintaining a close link to scientific practice throughout.
5. Central Arguments and Key Concepts
5.1 Rejection of the Bifurcation of Nature
Whitehead’s best‑known thesis is his criticism of the bifurcation of nature, the division between an objective world of measurable primary qualities and a subjective realm of secondary qualities (color, sound, etc.). He contends that such a split is an artifact of abstraction, not a feature of nature itself:
“For what I am urging is that the red glow of the sunset should be as much part of nature as are the molecules and electric waves by which men of science would explain the phenomenon.”
— Whitehead, The Concept of Nature
Different interpreters have read this either as a defense of a more “inclusive” naturalism or as an argument for revising how scientific concepts relate to experience.
5.2 Events and the Structure of Nature
A central positive claim is that events, not substances, are the basic constituents of nature. Events have temporal and spatial extension and stand in complex relations of inclusion, overlap, and succession. Enduring objects (such as physical bodies) are treated as abstractions from patterns of events, rather than as underlying bearers of properties. This event-based view is used to reinterpret space and time as relational structures emergent from event-relations, rather than independent containers.
5.3 Extensive Abstraction and Space-Time
Through the method of extensive abstraction, Whitehead argues that geometric entities such as points and instants are ideal limits abstracted from series of nested regions or durations. Proponents highlight this as an attempt to align geometry with physical practice, while critics question whether it fully captures modern mathematical treatments of space-time.
5.4 Sense-Awareness and Causal Efficacy
Whitehead distinguishes modes of sense-awareness, especially presentational immediacy (clear spatial presentation) and causal efficacy (the felt influence of the past on the present). He maintains that causal relations are directly given in experience through causal efficacy, not merely inferred. Commentators debate how this account relates to other theories of perception and causation, including empiricist sense-data theories and more recent causal theories of perception.
6. Legacy and Historical Significance
6.1 Influence within Philosophy
The Concept of Nature has been viewed as a pivotal work in the emergence of process philosophy. Later process thinkers, particularly in Anglo‑American and Continental traditions, have drawn on its event ontology and critique of substance. In philosophy of science, it has informed debates about scientific realism, structural realism, and the interpretation of space-time theories.
| Area | Typical Uses of the Work |
|---|---|
| Process metaphysics | Source for event-based and relational ontologies |
| Philosophy of perception | Alternative to sense-data and purely representational models |
| Environmental philosophy | Resource for non-dualistic understandings of nature and experience |
6.2 Relation to Whitehead’s Later System
Scholars often treat the book as a precursor to Process and Reality. Some emphasize strong continuity: the rejection of bifurcation, the centrality of events, and the importance of perception are said to foreshadow the later categoreal scheme. Others stress discontinuities, noting shifts in terminology and metaphysical ambition. Debates continue over how far insights from The Concept of Nature can be separated from, or must be interpreted through, Whitehead’s mature system.
6.3 Reception and Ongoing Debates
Contemporaneous reviewers generally recognized the work as innovative but technically demanding. Later commentators have raised questions about the status of abstractions in science, the adequacy of Whitehead’s reconstruction of geometry, and the plausibility of his claims about direct awareness of causation. Despite such criticisms, the text remains a significant reference point in discussions about how modern physics and ordinary experience jointly shape the concept of nature.
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urldate = {December 11, 2025}
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