Alfred North Whitehead

Alfred North Whitehead (1861\u20131947) was a prominent multidisciplinary figure, whose intellectual interests extended over mathematics, philosophy of science, history of science, education, religion, and metaphysics. The common thread to be found in Whitehead\u2019s work across diversified disciplines is his quest for universal connectedness, which can be found in all his theoretical frameworks. In mathematics, Whitehead pursued a generalized theoretical framework based on symbolic logic, along with Bertrand Russell. In the philosophy of science, Whitehead stated that for a natural phenomenon to exist, space and time must enable interconnection, without falling into the trap of ideal point-like abstractions, and hence of scientific materialism. In the philosophy of education, Whitehead proposed the development of interwoven literary, scientific, and technical curricula, all pointing to the single ultimate subject: life. In religion, Whitehead saw God as both primordial and consequent, giving original input to the process of organic evolution of the universe and then judging its development with benevolence. In metaphysics, Whitehead elected creativity as the ultimate principle, which brings together the multitude of the many into the uniqueness of the ever-transforming one. Importance and expression are, respectively, defined by Whitehead in view of their immanence of the infinitude into the finite and of the finitude into the infinite. Process philosophy is arguably Whitehead\u2019s main contribution, positing a cosmological view on the universe dominated by creativity, potentiality, possibility, connectedness, and teleological value. Whitehead\u2019s legacy is finally briefly discussed with reference to theology, eastern philosophy, quantum physics, sociology, and creativity studies

Registers of Relationality for Knowing Indigenous-Settler Politics

The turn to consider relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in settler colonial states necessitates analysis to clarify notions of relationality and to explicate accompanying methodological risks and possibilities. In response, this chapter spells out three registers of relationality for framing analyses of encounters and dynamics between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples. These three registers—‘thin’, ‘thicker’ and ‘thick’ relationality—serve to disaggregate relationality in ontological terms, to delineate methodological approaches to analysing Indigenous-Settler relations, and to reveal the types of political relations between peoples that are suggested and facilitated by how we know. While the chapter does not make a definitive argument for the use of any one register of relationality over another, it shows that that thinking in strongly relational terms is not a familiar way of knowing in dominant western scholarship, and that Indigenous peoples’ cosmologies and socio-political ordering tend to be highly relational in comparison. Moreover, thick relationality offers sophisticated forms of analyses that overcome methodological shortfalls of thin and thicker relationality as well as promising political possibilities by disrupting the comfortable work of categorical delineation and analysis that characterizes much mainstream political and social science

Catching values in flight: A process perspective on researching values in organisations. Kap. 10

Values are often hardly visible and taken for granted in organisations, leaving us with the question of how to study them. An emerging stream of studies on values work utilises a process approach to research values, work and practice in organisations, identifying how values and value practices are brought into being in organisational life. This chapter focuses on the use of process studies in relation to the investigation of values work in organisations. The chapter explains and exemplifies how values work can be studied through a strong-process perspective identifying work and practices that develop, grow or terminate values over time. Process studies identify various mechanisms related to the performative, situated and agentic nature of values work. Different methodology approaches are suggested for process studies investigating values work and institutionalising processes

Performing phronesis: on the way to engaged judgment

Practical wisdom and judgment, rather than seen as ‘things’ hidden inside the mind, are best talked of, we suggest, as emerging developmentally within an unceasing flow of activities, in which practitioners are inextricably immersed. Following a performative line of thinking, we argue that when practitioners (namely, individuals immersed in a practice, experiencing their tasks through the emotions, standards of excellence and moral values the practice engenders or enacts) face a bewildering situation in which they do not know, initially at least, how to proceed, the judgment they exercise emerges out of seeking to establish a new orientation to their puzzling surroundings. They do so through actively trying to be in touch with their felt emotions and moral sensibilities, while attempting to articulate linguistically the feelings experienced in order to get a clearer view of relevant aspects of the situation at hand. Coming to a judgment involves moving around within a landscape of possibilities, and in so doing, being spontaneously responsive to the consequences of each move, and assessing which one (or combination of moves) seems best in resolving the initial tension aroused in one’s initial confusion

From Substantialist to Process Metaphysics – Exploring Shifts in IS Research

Part 2: Doing Process ResearchInternational audienceThis article examines the shifts in Information Systems (IS) research from a positivist to interpretive to sociomaterial paradigm by demonstrating how the shifts reflected the move from substantialist towards process metaphysics. Such metaphysical grounding provides a foundation for deeper understanding of paradigm differences and the struggles when shifts occur. After a brief historical overview of substantialist and process metaphysics and a summary of their key assumptions, the article explores paradigm shifts in IS research and highlights the underlying metaphysical nature of surrounding difficulties and controversies. The article advances the paradigm debate by drawing attention to the metaphysical nature of paradigmatic shifts in IS research and by opening up intellectual space for conceiving and understanding novel research approaches beyond Burrell and Morgan’s model [1]