Panpsychism and Speculative Biology: A.N. Whitehead and C.H. Waddington
Revue roumaine de philosophie December 1, 2025 DOI: 10.59277/rrp.2025.69.2.09 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe geneticist C.H. Waddington drew on A.N. Whitehead's metaphysics to develop his scientific research on organism development and evolution. Whitehead's concepts of process, creativity, and choice addressed flaws in purely mechanistic and materialistic philosophy. The paper examines these flaws, explains how Whitehead's concept of organism resolves them, and explores Whitehead's influence on Waddington. Both thinkers' views suggest a revolutionary paradigm shift in theoretical biology.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Philosophy Biology |
| Key finding | Argues that Whitehead's metaphysics provided Waddington with a theoretical framework that informed his research on development and evolution, and that both thinkers' views suggest a revolutionary change of paradigm in theoretical biology. |
Abstract
The geneticist C.H. Waddington found in A.N. Whitehead’s metaphysics the power of generalization that produced the basic principles of process, creativity and choice, all of which provided a theoretical framework and informed the direction of his scientific research on the development and evolution of organisms. In this paper I begin by examining the flaws in a purely mechanistic and materialistic philosophy, show how Whitehead’s concept of organism addresses these flaws and finally explore Whitehead’s influence on Waddington. Both Whitehead and Waddington’s views suggest a revolutionary change of paradigm in theoretical biology.