ABSTRACT

I fi rst heard the name Alfred North Whitehead in 1975. I was ending my junior year at Th e Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and was looking ahead to my fi nal year there. I had decided I wanted to do a senior capstone project that would focus my academic interests on a topic of signifi cance. I had developed a close relationship with one of my teachers, Dr. William F. (Willi) Unsoeld, so I approached him about doing a special project. He liked the idea a lot because the college did not require a formal senior capstone project. Willi was a professor of philosophy and religion as well as experiential education. I asked him whom he considered the most important philosopher of the 20th century. He sat back in his chair and thought carefully for several minutes, then looked at me and said, “Alfred North Whitehead.” So began my long relationship with Whitehead, which would culminate in my doing my PhD dissertation at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1983, comparing Whitehead and John Dewey. My fascination with Whitehead continues aft er 32 plus years, and I fi nd his thinking as captivating and interesting now as I did in 1975.