Metaphysics on A . N. Whitehead’s ‘First Lecture: September, 1924'

Abstract

This paper examines the relation between Whitehead’s natural philosophy and metaphysics in “First Lecture: September 1924”. The first chapter looks at what problems arise according to what Whitehead’s metaphysics is thought to be. L.S. Ford asserts that the metaphysics suddenly emerged in the middle of the Harvard Lectures. However, this paper argues that the metaphysics formed progressively from a train of thought from the natural philosophy. Chapter 2 clarifies an awareness of the problem between the natural philosophy and “First Lecture”. In this way, this paper provides a continuous flow of thought between them. Chapter 3 examines the transition from the natural philosophy to the metaphysics. This transition involves two changes. The first is the change from the theory of extension to the theory of process. The second is the change from providing the concept of nature to providing the concept of reality. Thus, this paper discusses the flow of thought from the natural philosophy to the metaphysics and the formation process of the metaphysics.