process philosophy class by robert valenza ...
A four-day course on process philosophy will be hosted by the Center for Process Studies—January 11-14, 2010. “Novelty, Meaning, and Form” will be taught by Dr. Robert J. Valenza, Dengler-Dykema Professor of Mathematics and The Humanities at Claremont McKenna College. The dates dovetail with the Whitehead Film Festival, January 15-18.
This course is intended primarily for continuing students in philosophy and theology. It involves a metaphysical question having points of contact with art, mathematics, science, and religion. It will be conducted as a combination of lecture, seminar and workshop, with the expectation of much active participation among attendees. It may be taken on a no-credit basis. The credit-option is being negotiated with Claremont School of Theology. Please see the registration form for additional details by clicking HERE.
In six 3-hour sessions, the primary goal is to address two key questions: (1) How are the three notions of novelty, meaning, and form characterized and related—both in and out of a process-theoretic context? One hypothesis to be explored is that the very notion of novelty presumes meaning and form in a way that materialism cannot explain; and (2) to what extent, if any, are these concepts causally effective?
The following topics will be engaged: (1) a review of the salient metaphysical issues and terminology: ontology, substance, identity, and process; dualism, materialism, and dual-aspect theories; emergence and convergence; epiphenomenalism, property dualism and the language of supervenience, (2) an overview of process metaphysics, (3) the meaning and possibility of novelty and organism, (4) the problem of symbol and meaning, (5) the ideas of formalism, coherence and covariance from both a philosophical and scientific perspective, (6) case studies: a historical review of novelty, meaning and form in areas of mathematics and science, associcated issues in the evolution of art and the meaning of religion, and (7) speculative initiatives.
For registration information please click HERE.