The Subject as ‘Event’: Rearticulating Whitehead’s Speculative Metaphysics Through Foucault Open Access

Abstract

This work examines Alfred North Whitehead’s process metaphysical framework, particularly his notion of the ‘subject-event,’ and how it deserves more attention today. Though Whitehead is a philosopher traditionally associated with the analytic tradition, this work suggests that his metaphysics can be equally compatible with continental analysis, and is critically under-studied in this domain. It stresses Whitehead’s continental compatibility by providing an example through Michel Foucault’s philosophy of the subject. Both philosophers, though an initially paradoxical pairing, share striking parallels when they describe their vision of subjectivity. This work outlines the compatibility of Whiteheadian metaphysical analysis with the work of anti-metaphysical Foucault, and attempts to draw a preliminary direction of what these parallels might reveal about the (anti-?) metaphysical and subject-based work of these respective philosophers.

Table of Contents

Introduction                                                                                                 1

Chapter One: Rediscovering Whitehead                                                           5

Chapter Two: The Core of Whitehead’s Metaphysical Framework                     11

Chapter Three: The Crosshairs of the Analytic and the Continental                    25

Chapter Four: Into the Abyss                                                                        33

Chapter Five: Finding a Metaphysically-Compatible Framework                      47

Conclusion                                                                                                 59

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Philosophy
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Philosophy
Keyword	Foucault statement-event subject-event Whitehead event subject as event Process Philosophy Concrescence Whitehead discursive framework analytic Speculative philosophy Process Metaphysics continental Speculative metaphysics Subjectivity
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Lynne Huffer, Emory University
Committee Members	Judd Owen, Emory University Antonis Iliopoulos, Emory University Michael Schwarz, Emory University

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