Why the World is Unfinished:
Whitehead in 20 Minutes
Jung & Whitehead: Correlating Synchronicity
with Divine Coherence in Process Thought
PART 3
by R.E. Slater and ChatGPT
Today's exploration bridges the ideas of psychoanalyticist Carl Jung and process philosopher Alfred North Whitehead around the topic of synchronicity, acausality, and relational becoming. Some years ago after reading Thornton Wilder's "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," and Mitch Albom's, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," I came across the concept of synchronicity. I wrote an article about it at that time which may be found here: Divine Synchronicity: What Does It Mean for Christianity? In each I'd like to contrast the deterministic and quasi-deterministic views of these popular authors with a more proper Whiteheadian process perspective. One which emphasizes the generative, relational unfolding of divine presence in the cosmos.
As background, some time ago I had undergone a deeply personal reconfiguration which lasted nearly a whole year. It was a dark space where everything shattered and broke. I suspect in hindsight that this event more-or-less began even further back nearly 20 years earlier. Yet from it I emerged with a stunningly brilliant vision for the Christian faith that had become in my estimate unloving and unlovingly dogmatic.
Though I was at a loss as to how to reconfigure Christianity's substance I began to write from where I was to where I thought I should be going and as I did that vision has ever guided and sharpened in focus. It eventually led to a reconfiguration of the evangelical theology I grew up with - and had been rigorously taught and educated in - so that my evangelical faith eventually became more progressively focused.
However, I began to realize that my newer form of progressive evangelical theology was absent a sufficient, constructive philosophical structure. I then began applying myself to discovering a more formal foundation by exploring the many options out there. I wandered away from Americanised philosophies to European/Continental philosophies and thought I had found what I was looking for there. But after a few years I came across process philosophy which completed the circle I was looking for.
In Whitehead's process philosophy, along with it's derivative, process theology, came all that I felt my Reformed evangelical theology required for a total structural uplift and not merely a facial rearrangement of moving the deck chairs around on a sinking ship. Over the years I've written about my engagement with process thought and it's great helpfulness to the Christian faith... as well as to any global religion or scientific endeavor.
Why? Because in process thought one finds an holistic integrative structure where all thoughts and structures may reside in part and in piecemeal to its own structure. Like the proverbial process elephant wherein non-process spectators examine trunk, hide, tail, and ears, each likening their own process to the thing examined unrealizing the greater structure holding all together. Thus process and thus all of life which throbs with processual structure. Here is where divine and spirit, physical and cosmological, reside together. And is why the Christian faith can find a better address to live at than the former Westernized addresses it had been residing.
Thus today's discussion which touches indirectly on the concept of miracles in the bible and in our lives. Jung named this psycho-somatic inter-relationship "synchronicity" while Whitehead described it as a "prehensive relationality." I will explain what each mean and perhaps lay down a foundation on which to think of divine miracles not as rare events, nor as unnatural law-breaking events, but as daily constructs we live seamlessly with without notice.
R.E. Slater
May 12, 2025
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Whitehead & Jung: Correlating Synchronicity
with Divine Coherence in Process Thought
RES
In Whiteheadian thought is there any correlation with Jungian synchronicity?
ChatGPT
In Whiteheadian process philosophy, synchronicity and divine coherence are understood as interconnected aspects of reality. Synchronicity, as described by Carl Jung, is the meaningful coincidence of events, while divine coherence, as articulated by Alfred North Whitehead, refers to the underlying order and coherence of the universe, guided by a persuasive, non-coercive, divine presence. These concepts are not meant to be understood as literal interventions by a divine entity but rather as expressions of the interconnectedness and dynamic interplay of the universe.
Elaboration
While Jung focuses on psychic-symbolic meaning and Whitehead on ontological-relational becoming, both systems reject a purely mechanistic universe. They offer deep metaphysical support for a world that is alive, interrelated, and meaning-generating.
- Synchronicity
- Jung's concept of synchronicity suggests that meaningful coincidences are not merely random occurrences but can reveal underlying connections within the psyche and the world.
- These connections, according to Whitehead's process philosophy, every actual entity "feels" the world around it, as reality is built through relational process and not strict causality.
- Moreover, in process theology, such meaningful coincidences can be seen as manifestations of the divine, a persuasive force guiding the universe toward greater complexity and coherence.
- Summary: Both view the universe an as interconnected web of relationships where events are not fully explained by linear cause-and-effect.
- Divine Coherence & Interconnectedness
- For Jung, meaning arises when internal psychic states and external events "mirror" each other.
- For Whitehead, each moment (or actual occasion) involves "concrescence" - the integration of data into a meaning unity.
- Further, Whitehead's God is not a traditional, coercive deity, but rather a persuasive, creative force that draws the universe towards a greater wholeness. This divine coherence is expressed in the interconnectedness of all things, where each event and experience contributes to the ongoing creation and evolution of the universe.
- Summary: Meaning is not imposed but emerges through participation in a flowing, relational cosmos. Whitehead emphasizes that every event is interconnected with all other events, and that these connections are not merely physical but also meaningful. This interconnectedness is seen as a reflection of the divine, which acts as a unifying force, drawing all things together.
- The Role of the Psyche / Subjective Aim
- In Jung, the psyche has a deep structure shaped by archetypes, guiding personal meaning.
- In Whitehead, each actual entity has a subjective aim, a goal-directed character that integrates experience.
- Both suggest that inner purpose or intentionality shapes how the world is perceived and how novelty enters experience.
- Archetypes vs. Eternal Objects
- In Jung’s archetypes there are deep symbolic patterns of meaning in the collective unconscious.
- In Whitehead’s eternal objects, pure potentials that can be realized in actual occasions.
- Both philosophic concepts hold timeless structures which inform and shape temporal experience.
- Re Process Theology: Divine Coherence is Non-Coercive
- Whitehead's God is not a force that dictates or manipulates events. Instead, it is a force that invites, encourages, and persuades the universe to move towards greater complexity and coherence.
- Re Process Theology: There is an Unfolding of Divine Aims
- Divine aims are not imposed on the world but rather emerge through the interactions of individuals and events, with wisdom arising from these interactions.
- Re Mystical Traditions there is the concept of Thin Places
- The concept of "thin places" in the Celtic mystical tradition, where the divine and human meet, highlights the potential for encountering synchronicity and divine coherence in every encounter.
- Re Everyday Life Experiences: Cultivating Synchronicity
- By being open to meaningful coincidences and recognizing the interconnect-edness of all things, one can cultivate a deeper appreciation for the under-lying divine coherence of the universe.
Acausality as the Metaphysical Bridge
In Jung:
- Acausality describes events that are not mechanically linked but are psychically meaningful.
- Synchronicity happens when the inner world and outer world align without direct cause.
In Whitehead:
- Causation is not the only mode of connection. Instead:
- Prehensions involve feeling past actualities.
- Creativity introduces novelty beyond strict causality.
- The world unfolds through process, where the past informs but doesn't determine the present.
The Bridge:
- In both, meaning arises through participation in a living, relational universe.
- Events emerge from a field of potentials, not just linear chains.
- Acausality is not randomness; it’s a higher-order pattern - a felt resonance between psyche and cosmos (Jung), or between actual occasions (Whitehead).
Shared Implications:
- Reality is not closed - newness, surprise, and transformation are real.
- Subjectivity matters - experience is foundational.
- The cosmos is alive with pattern, not just force and mass.
RES
Let's approach acausality from the perspective of panpsychic panentheism where God's generative Being is implanted or enmeshed into the fabric of life. Though God does not control the shaping of the cosmos, God's generative indwelling does move physical and psychic evolution forward in relentlessly generative ways. Thots?
ChatGPT
Yes—your framing is both theologically profound and metaphysically rich. You’re articulating a panpsychic panentheism that beautifully aligns with Whiteheadian process thought and can even deepen Jung's acausal psyche-world relations. Let’s unpack it:
1. Acausality as Generative Presence
In your view, acausality is not the absence of order but the presence of a non-coercive generative field—God’s indwelling lure toward becoming, beauty, and relational complexity.
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This non-controlling divine impulse is what moves evolution—both physical and psychic—toward novelty.
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It is not causal in the Newtonian sense, but it’s deeply formative.
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In Whitehead’s terms: this is God as the initial aim, present in every moment of concrescence as the offer of the best possible becoming.
2. Panpsychism: Every Entity Has Experience
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Panpsychism insists that all actual entities, even subatomic ones, have some interiority or experience.
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Thus, God's generative presence moves through all levels of being, not as a puppeteer but as an interior relational call to actualize potential.
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This gives a unified metaphysical substrate through which synchronicity and evolution are both possible and meaningful.
3. Panentheism: God-in-the-World and World-in-God
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God is not separate from the cosmos, nor reducible to it.
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Instead, the cosmos exists within God, and God’s Being permeates it as the source of its potentiality, becoming, and transformation.
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This indwelling sets the stage for meaningful emergence—not through divine intervention, but through divine participation.
4. Acausality as the Deep Structure of Evolutionary Meaning
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Events like synchronicity, inspiration, mutation, or intuitive leaps may not be mechanistically caused, but they’re not random—they emerge from the generative resonance between cosmos and divine presence.
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Acausality, then, is the creative interface between immanence and transcendence, consciousness and cosmos.
5. Theological Implication: God as Relational Becoming
In this vision:
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God is not an omnipotent mechanic, but a relational artist, guiding through persuasion, not force.
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The world is always in dialogue with the divine—an open, living, co-creative unfolding.
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Acausality becomes the spiritual logic of freedom, growth, and unexpected grace.
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