Zhuhai, China, May 21, 2025 — The academic lecture titled Multilingual Interpretations and Cross-Cultural Practices of Whiteheadian Philosophy, hosted by the Center for Whitehead Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study of Beijing Normal Hongkong Baptist University (BNBU), was successfully held on the afternoon of May 21, 2025. The lecture was delivered by Professor Iannis Bardakos, Assistant Professor at the School of Culture and Creativity at BNBU and an expert in Whiteheadian philosophy, attracting nearly one hundred faculty members, students, and philosophy enthusiasts from both inside and outside the university.

Professor Bardakos currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the School of Culture and Creativity at BNBU. He is also an editor for Technoetic Arts, a researcher at the Cognitive Research Center of Paris 8 University, and involved in a joint project with the Shanghai Cognitive Connection Lab and the Paris-based ARTCARE Art Institute. His research spans philosophy, art, technology, and cross-cultural practices, with a particular focus on the interpretation and application of Whiteheadian process philosophy in contemporary art and digital media.

Professor Iannis Bardakos Delivering the Lecture

Introduction by Professor Guo Haipeng, Director of the Center for Whitehead Studies

I. The Core of Whiteheadian Philosophy: Process Ontology and “Actual Occasion”

Professor Bardakos opened the lecture by discussing the core propositions of Whitehead's Process and Reality, emphasizing that “the task of philosophy is to construct a coherent, logical, and necessary system of universal concepts to explain every element of experience.” He delved into the concept of "actual occasion," which serves as the fundamental unit of reality, characterized as "the limit type of generation," and establishes dynamic connections with the external world through "prehension."

First, regarding the non-perceptual nature of “prehension,” he explained that prehension is not a sensory or conscious activity but a fundamental “relational act” that allows the actual occasion to absorb and integrate elements of past events, forming its own process of generation. Secondly, on the notion that reality is a flow of events, Whitehead's philosophy challenges traditional substance-based thinking and proposes that the world consists of dynamic events rather than static objects. Everything that exists is part of a "generative process."

II. The Limitations of Western Languages and the Expressive Dilemma of Process Philosophy

Professor Bardakos criticized the Indo-European linguistic tradition for solidifying "substance-based thinking" and pointed out that Western languages, particularly those influenced by Aristotle's grammatical structure, rely heavily on nouns and subject-predicate logic, making it difficult to express the fluidity, relationality, and generativity inherent in Whiteheadian philosophy.

First, concerning the constraints of noun-dominated expressions, he noted that statements like "The apple is red" imply a static view of entities, while Whitehead advocates for verb-based expressions (such as "The apple presents red in the light") to better capture the essence of process. Secondly, drawing from the insights of Ancient Greek, he highlighted how the tense, aspect, and voice systems of Greek verbs (e.g., "γίγνομαι" meaning "to become") are more aligned with process philosophy. Terms like "κίνηση" (movement) and "μεταβολή" (transformation) naturally encapsulate dynamism.

During the Lecture

III. Translation as Philosophical Interpretation: From “Betrayal” to “Soul Simulation”

The lecture explored the philosophical dimension of translation, quoting the Italian proverb "Traduttore, traditore" (Translator, traitor), to discuss how the core ideas of philosophy are reconstructed across languages. Using the multiple versions of the translation of Clément Marot’s poem To the Sick Girl by Douglas Hofstadter, Professor Bardakos illustrated two points.

First, the non-mechanical nature of translation: a good translation must internalize the emotions, rhythms, and intentions of the text, “recreating the resonance of the soul” within the target language context. Secondly, regarding the poetic nature of Whitehead's texts, while Whitehead's philosophy is not poetry, its language, through recursive and layered rhetorical and semantic structures, generates a "poetic function" in its rhythm and ontological insistence.

During the Lecture

IV. Process Philosophy in Art and Technology

Professor Bardakos showcased how his artistic creations are based on Whiteheadian philosophy, exploring the mathematical logic and self-referential systems behind form generation. He discussed self-reference and recursive art, demonstrating how nested recursive images generated by Wolfram Mathematica, EEG brainwave signals, and real-time interactive installations with TouchDesigner embody how “information feedback loops” create dynamic forms. Regarding the metaphor of the membrane, he extended this concept across disciplines, from the "amphiphilic" structure of biological cell membranes (hydrophilic/hydrophobic) to social identities and virtual avatars with multi-layered interfaces. The membrane serves as a “threshold space” connecting physical, conceptual, and metaphysical realms, becoming a concrete manifestation of relational processes.

V. Cross-Cultural Practices and “Technomathematical Ontology”

In the closing of the lecture, Professor Bardakos introduced the concept of "Technomathematical Space" and advocated for using category theory’s "morphisms" to connect art and mathematics, constructing an abstract framework for form generation. He used his work Formaform V (2022 digital art exhibition) as an example to demonstrate how Whitehead's "actual occasion" can be transformed into an algorithm-driven visual narrative, realizing the technological transposition of philosophical ideas.

During the Lecture

Significance and Impact of the Lecture

This lecture not only systematically reviewed the core propositions of Whiteheadian philosophy but also demonstrated its vitality in contemporary art, language studies, and technological media through interdisciplinary examples. Professor Bardakos emphasized that multilingual interpretations and cross-cultural practices are not merely about transplanting concepts but involve constructing a dynamic dialogue between philosophy and reality through “Methexis” — the collective simultaneity of ancient Greek theater.

The audience eagerly participated in discussions, raising questions on topics such as “the application of process philosophy in artistic expression” and “the membrane theory and the fluidity of social identity.” The Center for Whitehead Studies expressed its commitment to continue promoting interdisciplinary dialogue between philosophy and cutting-edge technologies, injecting intellectual vitality into academic innovation in Zhuhai and the Greater Bay Area.