On December 16-17, 2023, the BNBU Center for Whitehead Studies held its inauguration ceremony and the “Process Philosophy and Chinese Modernization International Academic Symposium,” with over 30 experts and scholars from China, the United States, Hungary, and other countries in attendance.

Professor Xu Jialu, former Vice Chairperson of the 9th and 10th National People's Congress Standing Committee and Chairman of the BNBU Board of Governors, sent a congratulatory letter, expressing his hope that the center's establishment would greatly promote the university's philosophy and social science education and research, as well as foster academic exchange between China and other countries.

Dr. John Cobb Jr., founding director of the American Process Studies Center, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the third-generation heir of Process Thought, delivered a virtual speech, expressing high expectations for the center’s establishment and its role in promoting global process philosophy research.

Professor Zhou Yongming, Vice President (Academic) of BNBU, along with distinguished guests, unveiled the Whitehead Research Center and presented appointment letters to invited researchers.

The BNBU Center for Whitehead Studies, part of the Faculty  of Humanities and Social Sciences at BNBU, is an academic research institution with core members from various departments and invited researchers, including renowned scholars in Whitehead studies from both China and abroad. The center aims to build an international platform for Whitehead research and academic exchange, promoting interdisciplinary research and collaboration on Whitehead's thought, and deepening and expanding the study and application of Whitehead's ideas.

During the symposium, experts and scholars discussed the relationship between process philosophy and Chinese modernization in depth from the following four aspects.

First, the Relationship Between Process Philosophy, Ecological Civilization, and Chinese Modernization. Professor Philip Clayton, President of the American Ecological Civilization Institute and renowned process philosopher, pointed out that ecological civilization and Chinese modernization are contributions to the world and human civilization. The greatest difference between Chinese modernization and Western-style modernization is that Chinese modernization seeks the common welfare of people and humanity, while Western modernization seeks the welfare of a minority.

Professor Philip Clayton

Professor Zhang Yunfei of the Marxism Department at Renmin University of China stated that in his book Science and the Modern World, Whitehead clearly recognized the drawbacks of capitalist modernization and was alert to the negative impact of technology on modern society. He criticized the "misplacement of concreteness" in modern Western philosophy, i.e., dogmatism, and advocated for humanity to pursue a civilization characterized by five virtues.

Professor Yunfei Zhang

Dr. Attila Grandpierre, Director of the Hungarian Center for Long-term Sustainability Studies, discussed the important role of the concept of sustainable development in contemporary ecological civilization construction, asserting that the fundamental flaw of industrial civilization is its unsustainability, while ecological civilization is a sustainable model.

Professor Attila Grandpierre

Professor Li Jianhui, Dean of Academic Affairs at BNBU, introduced the "Century Debate" between Einstein and Bergson on the nature of time, explaining how Whitehead agreed with certain philosophical points of both men while offering a view of nature and space-time that differed from both.

Professor Jianhui Li

Dr. Andrew Schwartz, Executive Director of the American Process Studies Center, discussed the possibility and importance of world peace based on Whitehead's process philosophy.

Professor Andrew Schwartz

Professor Yang Fubin of Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhuhai, compared the natural views of Marx and Engels with Whitehead's, emphasizing the importance of natural philosophy research in building a socialist ecological civilization.

Professor Fubin Yang

Dr. Corinne Hummel of California State University, Northridge, spoke on “The Deep Affinity Between Marx and Whitehead,” stating that the book Marx and Whitehead by Professor Pomeroy profoundly influenced her, and she is currently researching this topic.

Professor Corinne Hummel

Professor Zhang Xiuhua of China University of Political Science and Law examined Whitehead’s concept of “feeling tone,” arguing that the concept of “feeling tone,” as an interrelation between real entities, is always present, and that “emotion” plays an important role and function in Whitehead’s philosophy. Understanding aesthetic factors such as feeling and tone is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of Whitehead’s philosophy of organisms.

Dr. Wang Zhihe, Co-Director of the China Project at the American Process Studies Center, stated that Chinese modernization, in some sense, is constructive postmodernization, a modernization aimed at the common welfare of humanity. This is a new form of human civilization. The second handshake between China and Whitehead’s ideas has significant value for Chinese modernization. Chinese modernization has the potential to lead humanity beyond industrial civilization and toward ecological civilization.

Professor Zhihe Wang

Second, the Relationship Between Process Philosophy and Chinese Traditional Culture. Professor Han Ziqi, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at BNBU, explained that both the Xici Zhuan (Appended Chapters of the Book of Changes) and Whitehead's Process and Reality focus on process cosmology, showing the internal connection between process philosophy and Chinese traditional philosophy.

Professor Tzeki Hon

Professor Wang Kun, Dean of the Marxism Department at Zhejiang Normal University, compared Whitehead’s concept of “prehension” with Zhu Xi’s concept of “induction,” revealing their high similarity and compatibility. Chinese philosophy has long emphasized “feeling” and “taste,” which can be called a “philosophy with flavor.” Zhu Xi’s emphasis on “everything has induction” aligns with Whitehead's idea that all things are capable of feeling. Traditional Western philosophy emphasizes the “mind,” while Whitehead focuses on the “body.” Prehension is an ontological category, not an epistemological one.

Vice President Zhou Yongming (right) presents the appointment letter to Professor Wang Kun (left)

Professor Li Fang of South China Normal University analyzed the I Ching as China’s classic text on process philosophy, explaining that it teaches the idea of continuous change, a key concept in process philosophy.

Professor Li Fang

Professor Guo Haipeng, Associate Dean of the General Education College at BNBU and Executive Director of the Whitehead Research Center, connected the idea in the I Ching that “change is the essence of things” with Whitehead’s doctrine of events. He also highlighted how the moral practice emphasized by Wang Yangming’s teachings and Mao Zedong’s principle of “seeking truth from facts” reflect the “use of the ancient for the modern” in Chinese culture.

Professor Guo Haipeng

Third, the Relationship Between Process Philosophy and Process Education. Professor Yang Li of Harbin Normal University emphasized the importance of balancing practical and theoretical rationality in process educational philosophy and the need to foster both scientific and humanistic spirit in students.

Professor Yang Li

Zhang Yuanyuan of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation discussed “life care education,” noting that empathy is a core element of Chinese traditional culture. She emphasized that the goal of education, according to Whitehead’s The Aims of Education, should be the holistic development of individuals, including IQ, EQ, moral intelligence, and systemic intelligence.

Ms. Zhang Yuanyuan

Fourth, the Application of Process Philosophy in Ecological Civilization Construction. Luo Yi and Zhang Yuanyuan, founders of the Shenzhen social enterprise “Lao Tu,” shared their experiences and insights on promoting green development and ecological civilization practices. Zhang Yuanyuan quoted Whitehead’s idea that “all relationships are aesthetic relationships,” meaning the way we engage with reality is based on preferences, acceptance, and appreciation. In Whitehead’s terms, this involves negative and positive prehension. Ecological civilization construction is a practice, and they call on more people to engage in this great project of civilization rebuilding.

Ms. Luo Yi

Source | UIC Whitehead Research Center

Text | Yang Fubin, Guo Haipeng, Li Xiang

Image | UIC Whitehead Research Center

Editor | Yu Meixin, Deng Kaixin