The Metaphysical System in Alfred North Whitehead’s Philosophy and Its Epistemological Dimensions

Abstract

The purpose of philosophical systems is to account for the sources of knowledge by uncovering the history of human consciousness and relating it to logical and ontological relations grounded in a framework of foundation and generation that balances form and content. Philosophical systems are neither static entities nor mere repositories of human knowledge. Rather, they are proliferating forms of intellectual life concentrated within a profoundly rooted central intellectual nucleus that establishes the principles of philosophical method and generates creative forms of knowledge capable of balancing truth and method. This study takes Alfred North Whitehead as its representative model. By examining his philosophical system, it seeks to elucidate how the sources of knowledge may be interpreted through a framework of foundation and generation, that is, by establishing the principles of philosophical method and generating creative concepts and conceptions intended to address questions of truth, irrespective of the domain in which they arise.