Voices of VR

#1708: How Process Philosophy Centers Experience. A Prismatic Tour of “Whitehead’s Universe” by Andrew M. Davis


Listen Later

I interviewed Andrew M. Davis about his forthcoming book titled Whitehead's Universe: A Prismatic Introduction on Thursday, December 4, 2025. It's absolutely the best introduction to Alfred North Whitehead's work in Process Philosophy, and I can't recommend it enough. The worst part is that it isn't set to release until sometime next year, but you can get an early look at some drafts if you sign up with some of Davis' upcoming Whitehead's Universe courses that are being offered in January and February 2026.
Whitehead's Process Philosophy centers the human experience at the center of it's philosophy, and therefore focuses on the dynamic flux and flow of experience as we inherit past memories, anticipate the future, decide what actions to take moment to moment, and synthesize it all through our feelings which help to solidify our core memories through the peak emotional experiences of our lives. Davis helps us navigate through Whitehead's neologisms, which are attempting to rewire our brain to think about the nature of reality in a completely new and different way.
The subject-predicate and noun-emphasized object-oriented structure of the English isn't doing us any favors, but thankfully the immersive experiences that are offered through immersive art and entertainment is very much oriented into the dynamic flux of our experience, through what is theorized as presence theory in virtual reality. I have my own elemental theory of presence, and in this conversation with Davis I discovered that there's a lot of resonance with how Whitehead is reconceptualizing the nature of reality into a more verb-based event ontology.
This is my fifth deep dive on Process Philosophy, and so be sure to check out my other conversations here:
#965: Primer on Whitehead’s Process Philosophy as a Paradigm Shift & Foundation for Experiential Design
#1147: Thirteen Philosophers on the Problem of Opposites: Grant Maxwell’s Integration & Difference Book & Archetypal Approaches to Character
#1183: From Kant to an Organic View of Reality: Scaffolding a Process-Relational Paradigm Shift with Whitehead Scholar Matt Segall
#1568: A Process-Relational Philosophy View on AI, Intelligence, & Consciousness with Matt Segall
#1708: How Process Philosophy Centers Experience. A Prismatic Tour of “Whitehead’s Universe” by Andrew M. Davis
This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon.
Music: Fatality
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Voices of VRBy Kent Bye

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

176 ratings


More shows like Voices of VR

View all
Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,842 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,060 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,704 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,253 Listeners

StarTalk Radio by Neil deGrasse Tyson

StarTalk Radio

14,323 Listeners

Left, Right & Center by KCRW

Left, Right & Center

5,104 Listeners

This Week in Tech (Audio) by TWiT

This Week in Tech (Audio)

3,059 Listeners

Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

Decoder with Nilay Patel

3,156 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

12,195 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,394 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,611 Listeners

What Next | Daily News and Analysis by Slate Podcasts

What Next | Daily News and Analysis

2,403 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,529 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,019 Listeners

The 404 Media Podcast by 404 Media

The 404 Media Podcast

384 Listeners