Reading A. N. Whitehead on Evolutionary Theory (dialogue with Tim Jackson)
Here's Claude 3.5's summary of the transcript of Matt Segall's conversation with Timothy Jackson about Whitehead's 1929 book "The Function of Reason":
The conversation begins with historical context about Whitehead's lectures at Princeton University in March 1929, after he had completed but not yet published "Process and Reality." Segall notes two important biological influences on Whitehead at Harvard: Lawrence Henderson and William Wheeler.
Henderson, in his 1913 book "The Fitness of the Environment," argued for continuity between cosmic and biological evolution, suggesting the universe is fundamentally biocentric. Wheeler, in his 1926 book "Emergent Evolution," discussed balancing genetic continuity with evolutionary novelty, arguing that the emergence of life and mind were gradual developments rather than sudden appearances.
Jackson points out that gradualism was orthodox Darwinism regarding species change, though Darwin himself was agnostic about the origin of life. They discuss how Whitehead distinguishes between gradualism at the level of matter/life/mind distinctions versus gradualism in speciation, with Whitehead rejecting strict gradualism at the species level.
The conversation then turns to how Whitehead was responding to the rise of logical positivism and behaviorism in the 1920s. While some of his specific targets may seem dated, his defense of final causality and purpose in nature remains relevant. Whitehead saw purpose as evident in animal and human experience, only denied when methods effective within limited domains are inappropriately generalized.
They discuss Whitehead's critique of reducing reason to merely pragmatic survival value, and his defense of speculative reason as necessary for science to understand itself. Without speculative reason, science risks adopting naive materialism as an unacknowledged metaphysics.
A key point of discussion is Whitehead's treatment of "survival of the fittest" and complexity in evolution. Jackson argues that complexity can emerge through niche partitioning and differentiation without requiring a separate principle of upward progress. Segall suggests Whitehead is making observations about complexity rather than proposing explanatory principles.
The conversation concludes with an exploration of Whitehead's concept of rhythm and cycles as fundamental to life and physical existence. He sees rhythm as involving both repetition and variation, providing a way to understand evolution that balances order and novelty. This connects to modern theories about the origin of life through chemical cycles and the relationship between organisms and their environments.
Throughout, they examine how Whitehead's ideas relate to contemporary evolutionary theory, systems chemistry, and philosophical discussions of emergence and complexity, while acknowledging both the dated aspects of his presentation and the continuing relevance of his core insights about reason, purpose, and evolution.
The discussion touches on many other topics including Darwin's relationship to Spencer's ideas, the role of symbiosis in evolution, and connections to modern theories in biology and physics, while maintaining focus on interpreting and evaluating Whitehead's arguments about reason and evolution.