Whitehead versus Dewey: O filosofii, rytmu a estetické zkušenosti

Abstract

In their philosophical works Alfred North Whitehead and John Dewey criticize philosophical conceptions that consider the stability of the outer world to be a basic characteristic of reality and conceive of change only as its secondary feature. Both Dewey and Whitehead emphasize that different kinds of process underlie the existence of seemingly stable and unchanging objects. Consequently, both men are considered to be process philosophers. Their philosophical systems harmonize in many respects. It is surprising, then, that in their philosophical writings they rarely mention each other. This article has three main aims. Its first part is a discussion of how and where the two philosophers do in fact refer to each other, and it seeks to show how they reflect on their similarities and differences. We see their strong mutual respect but also criticism. Whitehead claims that Dewey’s philosophy plays it too safe, is not metaphysically bold enough. Dewey has reservations about Whitehead’s ‘eternal object’, which, he argues, seems to bring static idealism into Whitehead’s philosophy. The second part deals with the concept of rhythm as the main ontological principle for both philosophers, and seeks to show that their treatment of this concept is strongly analogical, expressing not the repetition of the same element, but the fusion of order and novelty. The third part of the article seeks to demonstrate that for both philosophers rhythm is not only an ontological principle, but also the basic characteristic of aesthetic experience. This fact gives a strong aesthetic tinge to the philosophical systems of both Whitehead and Dewey.