Symbolism, its meaning and effect

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

78977

Title

Symbolism, its meaning and effect

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Alfred North Whitehead explores the profound role of symbolism in human experience, distinguishing between superficial signs and deep, essential symbolic reference. This philosophical work examines how symbols connect sense-perception to underlying realities, arguing that true understanding requires navigating the tension between immediate sensory data and the causal forces shaping our existence.

Summary up to 500 words

In his Barbour-Page Lectures at the University of Virginia, Alfred North Whitehead investigates the fundamental nature of symbolism, arguing that it is an essential mechanism for human functioning rather than a superficial layer of reality. Whitehead distinguishes between two primary modes of perception: 'presentational immediacy,' the vivid but often empty world of sense-data, and 'causal efficacy,' the deeper, primitive experience of being acted upon by external forces. While he acknowledges that direct perception is infallible, he posits that symbolism is fallible yet necessary for high-grade organisms to navigate the future. He critiques the Humean and Kantian view that causal efficacy is merely a habit of thought or category, asserting instead that we directly perceive the grip of the past on the present. Whitehead illustrates how errors arise when symbolic analysis fails to conform to causal reality, leading to disastrous actions. He presents a pragmatic philosophy where reason must critically purify symbols to ensure they serve the ultimate purposes of survival and happiness. The text analyzes how language, art, and logic function as symbolic systems that transfer emotions and meanings, enabling complex community life. He argues that while the world given in sense-presentation is gay with tints but intrinsically meaningless, the world disclosed in causal efficacy carries the weight of consequences that infect the ages to come. The lectures explore the intersection of these modes, noting that sense-data and locality serve as common structures allowing symbolic reference. Whitehead defines pure instinct as the response of an organism to pure causal efficacy, whereas symbolically conditioned action arises in higher organisms that analyze causal efficacy through the symbols of presentational immediacy. He warns that while pure instinct cannot be wrong, symbolically conditioned action can be erroneous due to false symbolic analysis. Furthermore, he examines the symbolic transference of emotion, noting that art and literature rely on the ability of symbols to intensify feelings arising from their meanings. Ultimately, Whitehead concludes that successful community life depends on maintaining a symbolic code that is both revered and subject to revision by enlightened reason, balancing the richness of immediate sensation with the weight of causal consequence to avoid the decay of society into anarchy or atrophy.

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Categories

• Psychology