Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Alfred North Whitehead Philosopher

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Feb 15, 1861
  • Died: Dec 30, 1947

Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS was an English mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as the defining figure of the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which today has found application to a wide variety of disciplines, including ecology, theology, education, physics, biology, economics, and psychology, among other areas.

In his early career Whitehead wrote primarily on mathematics, logic, and physics. His most notable work in these fields is the three-volume Principia Mathematica, which he co-wrote with former student Bertrand Russell. Principia Mathematica is considered one of the twentieth century's most important works in mathematical logic, and placed 23rd in a list of the top 100 English-language nonfiction books of the twentieth century by Modern Library.

Beginning in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Whitehead gradually turned his attention from mathematics to philosophy of science, and finally to metaphysics. He developed a comprehensive metaphysical system which radically departed from most of western philosophy.

Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them. technology

True courage is not the brutal force of vulgar heroes, but the firm resolve of virtue and reason. courage

An enormous part of our mature experience cannot not be expressed in words. experience

It is the business of the future to be dangerous and it is among the merits of science that it equips the future for its duties. business, future & science

No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. success

Fools act on imagination without knowledge, pedants act on knowledge without imagination. imagination & knowledge

Religion is the last refuge of human savagery. religion

Not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance, is the death of knowledge. death & knowledge

Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self. art

The total absence of humor from the Bible is one of the most singular things in all literature. humor

Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern. experience

It takes an extraordinary intelligence to contemplate the obvious. intelligence

If a dog jumps into your lap, it is because he is fond of you but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer. pet

The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order. change

Intelligence is quickness to apprehend as distinct form ability, which is capacity to act wisely on the thing apprehended. intelligence

Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains. best

Speech is human nature itself, with none of the artificiality of written language. nature

Knowledge shrinks as wisdom grows. knowledge & wisdom

The task of a university is the creation of the future, so far as rational thought and civilized modes of appreciation can affect the issue. future