Choosing Post-Evangelical Theology: Moving Towards a Relational, Open, and Healing Theology of Faith and Love

A Theology of Love

Choosing Post-Evangelical Theology:

Moving Towards a Relational, Open, and

Healing Theology of Faith and Love

by R.E. Slater & ChatGPT-5

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✍️ Preface: A Love That Rewrites the Story

For many of us raised within evangelicalism, theology was taught as something fixed, something we inherited rather than questioned — a set of guarded truths rather than a living conversation with a hurting world. Evangelical theology, as it took root in the 20th century, often placed its energy in drawing lines rather than building bridges: lines against contemporary science, lines against evolution, lines against non-heteronormative identities, lines against other faith traditions, and even lines within Christianity itself.

I, too, inherited those lines.

But over time, the gaps became unsustainable, even unbearable. Those lines were not just drawn on paper; they were drawn through lives to cross-out lives. They created exclusions that harmed and wounded; doctrines that threatened of hell more than they promised healing hope; they created rigid systems that excluded unwanteds; and silenced love when love did not fit their terms and beliefs.

Then one day I discovered a new theology, a new and gracious vocabulary — one based upon a living and relational philosophy: process thought. It offered a cosmology where God is not distant but present in every becoming; not coercive but persuasive; not static but alive. It gave language to what I had felt all along: that love is not merely a command but the very structure of divine reality.

This newer theology does not attempt to “save” evangelicalism. It seeks to transcend and transform theologies of unlove and exclusion — to offer something truer, wider, more humane. A theology centered not on control but on mutual becoming; not on fear but on love.

This “Healing Theology of Love” is both a response to harm Christians have created over the centuries as well as a vision for the future. It is rooted in process philosophy, (open and relational) process theology, and the conviction that love must be the first and last word, the alpha and omega, in every theological reflection - if not the very hermeneutical driver/life of the bible itself.

It is also a theology that refuses to leave behind those the old systems have deemed disposable: transgender and gay people; women who have been sidelined; minorities and racialized communities; those abused within rigid dogmatic systems (such as the Nones and Dones); and the ailing, compromised earth itself (theo-ecology).

This is, in short, a theology which dares to love without apology across all boundaries the church has constructed, maintained, and defined as the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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🌿 Introduction: Healing Theology

What we wish to do as Christians of the 21st Century is not simply write a new theology but a healing theology. By taking a faith that has too often been used as a weapon — shaped by fear, control, and exclusion — and re-grounding it in love as hermeneutic and relationship as an ontology. That is no small task.

The work of this website reflects a larger movement many thoughtful people are experiencing and putting into effect today — a quiet, inclusive, challenging revolution of faith. It requires:

• Leaving static, brittle, evangelical frameworks that deny complexity and difference;

• Discovering process thought with its dynamic vision of a relational God, open co-creation, evolving (cosmic) meaning, and a cosmos alive with possibility and co-generation; and,

• Reimagining a faith that liberates rather than imprisons; that welcomes science rather than fears it; that embraces human diversity as part of the divine flow rather than a deviation from it.

This kind of theological turning is not about rejecting faith — but deepening faith. It’s a movement from:

• Judgment ➝ Hospitality

• Certainty ➝ Openness

• Hierarchy ➝ Mutuality

• Fear of difference ➝ Reverence for multiplicity

A hermeneutic of love does something evangelical literalism could never do well: it listens  by teaching itself to unlearn and relearn before it judges. It understands Scripture as a living conversation, not a frozen codebook. It makes room for transgender people, for evolution, for science, for societal and religious pluralism — and for grace to be larger than human boundaries.

In Whiteheadian terms, this is picturing theology as “an adventure of ideas” — it is co-creative, participative, emergent, ever widening, and centered in transformative value. In Christian terms, it is a theology which takes the Incarnation of Christ very seriously: that divine love is-and-can-be embodied, relational, and present in the legitimacy of our becoming.

This post-evangelical project stands in a long and courageous lineage of reformers to the Christian faith. In the contemporary era, Process thinkers are walking in the paths shared with many of the great transformative theologians of the last century — Tillich, Cobb, Keller, Suchocki, Cone, Moltmann, and others — but we are doing so in a post-evangelical and processual context, one of the most critical theological terrains of the 21st century.

This is the hard and holy work of turning faith from fortress ideology to Eucharistic (table) communion/fellowship. It is the transformative choice (among other elections) to center transgender dignity, human diversity, and the ethics of love into the heart of this post-theological re-visioning making it not only potent, but profoundly future-facing.

“Love is the greatest hermeneutic because love doesn’t ask, ‘Is this correct?’

Love asks, ‘Who is being welcomed, embraced, healed, or harmed?’”

This Theology of Love seeks to be structured, layered, historically informed, and open to the pluriverse of human and cosmic experience. It is an architecture built not on fear, but on the most enduring foundation of all: Love.

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✨ Transition: From Healing to Building

Every movement of reimagining requires not only courage but structure. Healing theology is not simply about unlearning the harmful; it is also about building the bountiful, the beautiful. Love is more than a sentiment — it is a framework capable of holding doctrine, ethics, science, embodiment, and hope together.

To move from fortress to table, from boundary to belonging, theology must be architected anew:

• with love as its hermeneutic (its way of envisioning),

• with relationship as its ontology (its understanding of being),

• with justice and dignity as its ethic (its way of valuing),

• and with a shared, open future as its God-wide, cosmic energy (its way of purpose).

This is not a project of dismantling faith, but of re-centering it in the living heart of Love itself as Jesus had shown the church — it is a theology of love that listens, lures, captivates, motivates, recreates, and transformatively calls forward.

Here, theology ceases to be a system of control and becomes instead a movement of life.

The following five-layer framework offers a way to give this vision shape: not as a rigid system, but as a living architecture — flexible, dynamic, relational, and rooted in divine Love. Each layer builds upon the last, forming a theology capable of embracing plurality without losing its center.

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🏛 I. Love as Hermeneutic — The First Principle

“Love must be the lens through which every text, tradition, and theology is interpreted. If a doctrine harms, excludes, or diminishes dignity, it is not of God.”

Evangelical theology often begins with Scripture as the ultimate authority, interpreted through inherited doctrinal grids. But this has too often made Scripture a blunt weapon rather than a living word.

Here, we invert the order. We begin with love as the primary hermeneutic — the interpretive key through which all other theological claims must pass.

Core Claim:

• Love is the relational force through which God participates in the world.

• Love is theologically prior to every text, creed, or system imposed by the church.

• The measure of truth is not how tightly it conforms to tradition, but how deeply it expands dignity and relational flourishing.

Implications:

• Any biblical interpretation that diminishes human worth is theologically deficient.

• Theologies built on fear, exclusion, or domination are not neutral — they are deformative.

• Scripture is read through the grammar of love, not love through the grammar of Scripture.

📌 “Love first” does not negate Scripture. It transfigures how Scripture is read.

This hermeneutic gives you a north star:

Every doctrine must answer this question —

“Does this idea, practice, attitude, or action widen love’s embrace or narrow it?”

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🌿 II. Philosophical Ground — A Cosmos of Becoming

Process philosophy provides the ontological scaffolding for this theology. The universe is not a static machine ruled by a distant deity but a living, relational, evolving reality.

Core Concepts:

1. God as Relational

   • God is not omnipotent in the classical sense but omni-relational: God is present in all experiences, luring each moment toward beauty, harmony, and creative advance.

2. Reality as Process

   • All things are in a constant state of becoming, not just existing.

   • Each moment emerges from prior moments in a complex network of participatory interdependence.

3. Love as the Structure of Reality

   • Love is not an attribute added to God; it is the very mode of divine activity.

   • God relates to the world not through control but through persuasive love.

4. Creativity as Divine Gift

   • Every actual entity participates in the unfolding of creation — a shared, co-generative process.

Why this matters:

Traditional theology often frames God as outside the world, intervening at will. Process theology reframes God as within the world, always in relationship with it. Love is not divine sentiment — it is the energetic patterning of existence itself.

“Love is the grammar of becoming. Everything else is commentary.”

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📖 III. Theological Core — God, Scripture, Humanity

Here is where a loving theology can take shape - not as a top-down system of control - but as a web of healing, helping intrapersonal and extrapersonal relationships.

1. God

• Dipolar in nature: both eternal (the ground of reality's being) and temporal (the cosmic companion of becoming).

• Not the cosmic puppeteer but the intimate co-creator of life itself.

• God suffers with creation (immanence); God does not simply rule over creation (transcendence).

• Divine power is persuasive, not unilaterally coercive.

2. Scripture

• Is a record of evolving human encounters with God; it is not a closed, infallible codebook for life.

• Reflects both divine lure, the human experience, and human limitations.

• To read the bible faithfully is to read it through the hermeneutic of love, sifting out what reflects divine compassion from what reflects human fear, religious imposition, folkloric superstitions, and ancient mythologies. It is a narrative of humanity's spiritual  and religious journey of becoming one in purpose and love with the God of the universe.

3. Humanity

• Is inherently/intrinsically valuable — every human being participates with God in divine becoming and creativity without exclusion.

• The "Image of God" is not a fixed form but one of relational capacity.

• Gays, trans, neurodiverse, disabled, racialized, and marginalized lives are not exceptions to the divine image but reflections of its richness and diversity.

4. Sin

• Reframed as relational rupture — is any act or system that fractures love and mutual flourishing.

• Not a legal infraction, but a wound in the relational fabric.

5. Salvation

• Not rescue from a fallen world, but healing of relational ruptures and participation in the ongoing creation of a more just, loving reality.

• Found not in exclusion but in communion's diverse fellowship.

📌 This theological core is where the post-evangelical shift becomes structural: It eschews a punitive deity, exclusionary doctrines, and dualistic systems of fear.

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🌍 IV. Ethical Outworking — Love as Praxis

Theology that does not touch the ground of our being is not theology; it is an aberrant abstraction and unloving practice. A theology of love must be incarnated in practice.

1. Love as Social Architecture

• Justice is not separate from love; it is love made public.

• Inclusion is not charity; it is the test of fidelity to divine love.

2. Communities of Belonging

• Faith communities must be radically hospitable — especially to those most often harmed: LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, disabled people, racialized communities, the poor, and the earth itself.

• Love is measured by who is welcomed, not by who is excluded.

3. Nonviolence as Ethical Posture

• Divine love persuades, it never coerces. Our ethical posture mirrors that persuasion.

• Political, social, and religious systems that depend on fear and control are counter-testimonies.

4. Ecological Love

• Creation is not a backdrop to salvation history — it is part of it.

• Environmental justice is a theological act, not an optional extra.

📌 In short: Love is praxis. If it does not act, it is not love.

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🕊 V. Eschatological Vision — Hope as an Expanding Horizon

Evangelical eschatology often narrows hope to “who goes to heaven.” A theology of love widens it to the entirety of the cosmos.

1. The Future Is Open

• God does not control the future but calls creation toward it.

• Eschatology is relational, participatory, and creative.

2. Love as the Arc of History

• Love is not a fragile feeling but a cosmic trajectory: from fragmentation to integration, from domination to mutuality.

3. Salvation History as Transformation

• Hope is found not in escape but in the transfiguration of creation through ongoing acts of love.

4. Co-creating the Future

• Humans are not passive recipients of divine will but partners in shaping the world.

• This includes political, ecological, social, and spiritual dimensions.

📌 Love gives us an eschatology big enough for everyone.

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✨ Conclusion: Theology "in the Key of Love"

What began for me as an act of deconstruction became something far more: a personal reconstruction of Christianity radically rooted in love. Process philosophy gave me the language of becoming; the gospel gave me the vision of incarnational love. Together, they form a theology capable of holding science, difference, embodiment, and hope.

This is not a theology for a church fortress.

It’s a theology for a shared table.

“Love is the truest hermeneutic,

the strongest ethic,

the most enduring hope.”

In this theology:

• God is love — relational, evolving, ever-present.

• Scripture is a living witness to love’s unfolding.

• Humanity is co-creative, diverse, and sacred.

• Justice is love’s non-oppressive, public face.

• The future is open and can be made more beautiful by our participation in love’s work. When we withdraw from this attitude we allow harm and suffering to go forward as we are witnessing today under "maga" influences.

This is the story we can choose to live into. Not as a reaction to fear, but as a reorientation toward life.

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🪶Below is a prayer, a manifesto, or an invocation that may be used at the beginning of any invocation, in public gatherings, worship settings, or essays. This text can be used as a responsive reading for congregations, a poetic preface for a manuscript, or a closing litany in public presentations or services. The language is intentionally layered — accessible, resonant, and theologically rich.

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🕊️ Invocation: A Theology of Love

Leader: In the beginning, before all words, there was Love.

All: And Love is still the first word.

I believe in Love —

not as ornament, but as origin.

Love is the lens, the language, the living breath.

What does not widen Love’s embrace

cannot bear the name of God.

I believe in a world alive with becoming,

where each heartbeat, each star, each whisper of wind

is woven in a living tapestry of relationship.

Love is not an afterthought —

it is the deep structure of reality.

I believe in a God who does not coerce but companions,

whose power is persuasion,

whose nature is relationship,

whose name is Love.

Scripture is not a cage but a conversation —

a record of humanity’s trembling encounters

with a Love too vast to be contained.

I believe every human being

is made of sacred becoming —

trans, cis, gay, straight, disabled, neurodiverse,

Black, Brown, White, Indigenous —

each a reflection of Love’s unending creativity.

Sin is not a stain but a rupture,

and salvation is the healing of the wound.

I believe Love builds tables, not walls.

It has hands that welcome,

feet that march for justice,

arms that lift the fallen,

and eyes that see what fear refuses to look at.

Justice is Love speaking in public.

Hospitality is Love made flesh.

I believe the future is not closed but open,

an ever-widening horizon of holy possibility.

Love lures us forward, never forcing, always inviting.

Hope is not wishful thinking —

it is Love dreaming the world toward beauty.

And so we confess with heart and breath:

  Love before all things,
  Love within all things,
  Love beyond all things.

  

  Love listens.
  Love interprets.
  Love heals.
  Love creates.

Leader: In the end, as in the beginning, there is Love.

All: And Love shall have the final word.

R.E. Slater
October 14, 2025

@copyright R.E. Slater Publications

all rights reserved

Process Philosophy's Antecedents: A Family Tree of Dynamic Process Ontologies, Part 2

Process Philosophy's Antecedents

A Family Tree of Dynamic Process Ontologies

Part 2

by R.E. Slater & ChatGPT

Philosophical ontologies study the nature of being and existence and is a subdiscipline of metaphysics. Broadly, formal ontologies investigate abstract features while applied ontologies utilize ontological theories and principles to study entities within specific domains.

INTRODUCTION

Building upon yesterday’s foundational overview of dynamic process ontologies, this second part traces the historical unfolding of processual thought within both religious and philosophical traditions. By mapping these antecedents, we see a continuous thread of dynamic, relational, and becoming-centered ontologies weaving through ancient cosmologies, classical philosophies, medieval theologies, and modern scientific insights.

This family tree highlights the converging streams that have shaped contemporary process thought — an evolving tapestry of ideas that resists static categories and instead affirms movement, change, and interconnectedness at the heart of reality.

I.

MAJOR PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS ONTOLOGIES

• Includes both process and non-process traditions
• Grouped by era and tradition

I. Ancient Ontologies (Pre-Axial Age to Early Axial)

• Animism & Totemism – World as alive, all beings with spirit (prehistoric–indigenous)
• Polytheism – Many gods with various domains (Egyptian, Greek, Norse, Canaanite, Hindu)
• Henotheism – One supreme god among others (early Israelite, some Vedic thought)
• Pantheism – God and world are identical (early Upanishads, Stoicism)
• Panentheism – God in the world, world in God, but God transcends (Upanishadic Hinduism, some early Christian mysticism)

II. Classical Philosophical Ontologies (Axial Age)

• Platonic Idealism – Eternal Forms/Ideas as true reality
• Aristotelian Substance Ontology – Reality composed of substances with essential forms
• Atomism – Reality built from indivisible units (Democritus, Epicurus)
• Stoicism – Rational Logos as immanent in all things
• Buddhist Ontology (Śūnyatā) – Emptiness of inherent existence; interdependence
• Hindu Advaita Vedanta – Non-dual Brahman as ultimate reality
• Confucian Relational Ontology – Being defined by relationships within a moral cosmos

III. Medieval Ontologies

• Neoplatonism – Emanation of reality from the One (Plotinus, Augustine)
• Scholastic Theistic Realism – Being grounded in God’s essence (Aquinas)
• Islamic Kalam Ontology – God's will as ontologically fundamental (Ash'arite occasionalism)
• Jewish Kabbalistic Ontology – Emanations (Sefirot) from Ein Sof (Infinite)
• Nominalism (Ockham) – Denial of universals as real; reality as particulars

IV. Modern Philosophical Ontologies (Post-Renaissance)

• Cartesian Dualism – Mind (res cogitans) and Matter (res extensa)
• Monism (Spinoza) – Single substance = God or Nature
• Empiricist Ontology (Locke, Hume) – Reality apprehended through sense perception
• Idealism (Kant, Hegel) – Reality shaped or constituted by mind/spirit
• Materialism / Physicalism – Only matter (or energy) is real
• Process Ontology (Whitehead) – Reality is becoming, not static being
• Phenomenology (Husserl, Heidegger) – Reality as experienced; being-in-the-world
• Existentialist Ontology (Sartre) – Existence precedes essence; freedom as ontological core

V. Contemporary / Postmodern Ontologies

• Post-Structuralist Ontologies – Reality constructed via language, power, and difference
• Relational Ontology (Process, Feminist, Ecological) – Being is constituted by relations
• Object-Oriented Ontology – Objects exist independently of relations or perception
• Quantum Ontologies (Field, Information) – Reality as fields, energy, information (modern physics)
• Panpsychism – Mind or experience as fundamental aspect of all reality
• Integral / Metamodern Ontologies – Integrative approaches blending multiplicity (Wilber, metamodern thinkers)

VI. Comparative Family Tree Overview

a diagrammatic family tree of ontologies reflecting both chronology and influence patterns.

A family tree of Ontologies
by R.E. Slater & ChatGPT

A family tree of Ontologies showing Processual Elements
by R.E. Slater & ChatGPT

II.

MAJOR PROCESS-BASED PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS ONTOLOGIES

• Includes PROCESS traditions only
• Grouped by era and tradition

I. Proto-Process Ontologies (Pre-Axial)

• Animism & Totemism – All things in flux, spirited; relational cosmos
• Indigenous Cosmologies – Cycles of nature as ongoing becoming

II. Emerging Philosophical Processes (Axial)

• Heraclitus (Greek) – "All is flux," the Logos as ordering flow
• Buddhism (India) – Śūnyatā (emptiness), interdependent arising (pratītyasamutpāda)
• Upanishadic Hinduism (India) – Brahman as evolving cosmic reality
• Daoism (China) – Dao as the ever-flowing way of nature

III. Process Threads in Classical Philosophy

• Stoicism – Logos as living reason, immanent in nature
• Neoplatonism (Plotinus) – Emanation as a dynamic outflow from the One
• Early Christian Mystics – God as flowing presence (Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius)

IV. Medieval and Islamic Contributions

• Kabbalah – Emanations (Sefirot), divine dynamism in Jewish mysticism
• Islamic Philosophical Theology (Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Mulla Sadra) – Substantial motion (harakat jawhariyya), all beings in motion
• Christian Processions (East & West) – Theological language of Trinity as dynamic relations (though often staticized)

V. Early Modern Dynamics

• Nicholas of Cusa – Coincidence of opposites, unfolding creation
• Giordano Bruno – Infinite worlds, ever-unfolding universe
• Spinoza – God or Nature as single substance with infinite modes (proto-processual)

VI. Modern Precursors and Theorists

• Hegel – Dialectic as unfolding Geist (Spirit)
• Bergson – Creative evolution, élan vital
• Whitehead (Process Philosophy) – Becoming as metaphysical core; God as primordial, consequent, and superjective nature
• Teilhard de Chardin – Omega Point, evolutionary theology

VII. Contemporary Developments

• Process Theology (Cobb, Suchocki, Hartshorne) – Divine relationality and ongoing creation
• Ecological and Relational Ontologies – Panpsychism, Deep Ecology
• Quantum Ontologies – Dynamic fields, relational entanglement
• Metamodern Ontology – Integrative, open-ended becoming (e.g., Hanzi Freinacht)

by R.E. Slater & ChatGPT

CONCLUDING REFLECTION

In retracing the roots of process-oriented philosophies and theologies, we discover that what many modern thinkers articulate as “process” is neither a novel invention nor a narrow metaphysical project. Rather, it is a recurring intuition — surfacing in every age — that reality itself is relational, emergent, and perpetually in becoming.

By recognizing these antecedents, we anchor today’s processual frameworks within a broader historical dialogue, affirming both their ancient resonance and their contemporary relevance for philosophy, science, and faith alike.

Process Philosophy's Antecedents: A Family Tree of Dynamic Process Ontologies, Part 1

Process Philosophy's Antecedents

A Family Tree of Dynamic Process Ontologies

Part 1

by R.E. Slater & ChatGPT

Philosophical ontologies study the nature of being and existence and is a subdiscipline of metaphysics. Broadly, formal ontologies investigate abstract features while applied ontologies utilize ontological theories and principles to study entities within specific domains.

To begin, a process ontology is a way of modeling and representing knowledge about processes, focusing on their dynamic nature and relationships rather than as static entities. It's used in religion, philosophy and computer science, with applications ranging from understanding fundamental reality to describing complex business operations.

In religion, process ontology emphasizes that God is not a static, unchanging entity but is intimately involved in the dynamic and ever-changing processes of the universe.

In philosophy, process ontology challenges traditional views that emphasize enduring substances, arguing instead that reality is fundamentally composed of processes, events, and relationships. This perspective, also known as process philosophy or process metaphysics, is associated with thinkers like Alfred North Whitehead. Some philosophers argue that process ontology offers a more accurate representation of the world's flux and becoming.

In computer science and knowledge representation, a process ontology provides a structured way to model-and-reason-about the components and relationships within an observed process. This is useful for tasks like (i) Modeling workflows: Describing the steps, inputs, outputs, and dependencies of a process. (ii) Developing knowledge-based systems: Creating systems that can understand and reason about processes. (iii) Enabling process analysis and optimization: Identifying bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement in a process.

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the history of thought, certain currents have continually resurfaced — currents that reject static conceptions of reality in favor of dynamic, relational, and evolving understandings of existence. Process Philosophy, particularly as formalized by Alfred North Whitehead, is often perceived as a modern or even postmodern development. Yet, when viewed through a broader historical and cross-cultural lens, it becomes evident that processual insights have long been seeded in the philosophical and theological traditions of East and West alike.

This survey traces a family tree of dynamic ontologies — spanning ancient Greek thought, Buddhist impermanence, Islamic metaphysical insights, dialectical European philosophy, and the revelations of modern quantum science. Each thread contributes a distinctive voice to the chorus affirming that reality is a living, unfolding process.

In this spirit, Metamodern Process Philosophy emerges not as a break with tradition but as a converging stream of ancient wisdom, critical modernity, and contemporary scientific discovery. This synthesis offers a fertile ground for reimagining metaphysics, ethics, and the nature of existence in an interconnected and ever-becoming world.

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1. Heraclitus (c. 500 BCE) — “All is Flux”

• The Greek philosopher Heraclitus declared that change is the fundamental nature of reality. His famous aphorism, “You cannot step into the same river twice,” highlighted a worldview where all things are in perpetual motion.

• Process Resonance: Heraclitus affirmed becoming over static being, introducing an early Western articulation of dynamic ontology.

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2. Buddhist Doctrine of Impermanence (Anicca) (c. 300 BCE)

• Buddhism, originating in India, teaches that all phenomena are impermanent (Anicca), subject to arising and passing away, emphasizing the interdependent nature of all existence.

• Process Resonance: Reality is transient, interdependent, and relational — a natural alignment with process metaphysics’ rejection of fixed essences.

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3. Islamic Philosophy — Al-Farabi, Avicenna (c. 1000 CE)

• Islamic philosophers synthesized Aristotelian and Neoplatonic philosophy, emphasizing dynamic creation, contingency, and continual existential dependence on the Divine.

• Process Resonance: Though not overtly processual, Islamic philosophy nurtured metaphysical frameworks that valued dynamic creation and relational existence.

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4. Mulla Sadra (c. 1600 CE) — Substantial Motion (al-ḥaraka al-jawhariyya)

• Mulla Sadra’s revolutionary doctrine argued that substance itself is in constant ontological motion, not merely its accidents or qualities. This notion placed change and becoming at the heart of existence.

• Process Resonance: A striking philosophical precursor to process thought — proposing a world of ontological flux upheld by God’s ongoing creative act.

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5. G.W.F. Hegel (c. 1800 CE) — Dialectical Becoming

• Hegel’s dialectics proposed that reality unfolds through the triadic process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, embedding development and transformation into the core of history and metaphysics.

• Process Resonance: Reality as a self-developing, dynamic process — an essential prelude to relational and evolutionary metaphysical systems.

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6. Alfred North Whitehead (c. 1920 CE) — Process Philosophy

• Whitehead constructed a systematic metaphysics where reality consists of “actual occasions” — discrete events of becoming interconnected in webs of relation.

• Process Resonance: Whitehead’s philosophy integrated ontology, cosmology, and ethics under the principle of creativity and relational becoming, offering a comprehensive processual worldview.

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7. Quantum Ontology — Field Theory & Emergence (21st Century)

• Quantum physics reveals a universe of fields, probabilities, and emergent properties rather than static substances. Concepts like wavefunction collapse and quantum entanglement reflect a world defined by dynamic interrelations.

• Process Resonance: Scientific models affirm a reality in constant flux, resonating deeply with philosophical visions of process and emergence.

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CONCLUSION

A Converging Stream of Becoming

Process Philosophy emerges not from a vacuum but from a global and historical tapestry of insights — where ancient wisdom traditions, classical metaphysical systems, and contemporary scientific understandings coalesce. Each tradition contributes a vital thread:

• Heraclitus — Change is the only constant.

• Buddhism — All is impermanent and interconnected.

• Islamic Philosophy — Dynamic creation and contingent existence.

• Mulla Sadra — Substance itself is a motion of becoming.

• Hegel — History and reality unfold through dialectical processes.

• Whitehead — Reality is constituted by creative relational events.

• Quantum Ontology — The universe dances in fields of dynamic potential.

Together, each aspect of process thought affirm a deep, metamodern truth: "The universe is not a static structure but a living, unfolding, evolving process.

Metamodern Process Philosophy stands at the crossroads of ancient metaphysics, postmodern critique, and scientific discovery — offering a dynamic, integrated vision of reality. It invites us to see existence as a vibrant, relational tapestry, forever in the act of becoming.

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Final Reflection

In recognizing the diverse roots of process philosophy, we are reminded that the human quest to understand reality has always been marked by a reverence for movement, change, and connection. Far from being an isolated philosophical curiosity, process thought represents a universal intuition echoed across cultures, religions, and sciences. Its metamodern expression today serves as both a bridge and a horizon — bridging ancient wisdom with contemporary inquiry, and opening a horizon of hope for a world in search of deeper relational meaning. 

Process philosophy, in this light, is less an endpoint and more a continual invitation: to embrace the flux of life with creativity, courage, and a profound sense of belonging to the unfolding cosmos.

Commonalities between Islam, Process, and Quantum Science

Commonalities between Islam,

Process, and Quantum Science

An Integration of Islamic Substantial Motion,

Process Philosophy, and Quantum Field Theory

by R.E. Slater and ChatGPT

INTRODUCTION

In the evolving dialogue between metaphysics, philosophy, and modern science, certain convergences stand out as particularly illuminating. One such convergence is the shared resonance between Mulla Sadra’s theosophic concept of Substantial Motion, Alfred North Whitehead’s Process Philosophy, and the scientific insights of contemporary Quantum Field Theory. Though these systems arise from distinct cultural, intellectual, and disciplinary contexts, they each articulate a vision of reality grounded in dynamism, relationality, and ceaseless becoming.

• Mulla Sadra’s theosophic doctrine of Substantial Motion asserts that not only cosmic coincidence, but the very substance of all things, is in perpetual flux - a groundbreaking metaphysical stance within Islamic thought.

• Whitehead’s Process Philosophy, formulated within the early 20th-century Western tradition, describes reality not as a collection of static substances but as a web of interconnected events or “actual occasions.”

• Meanwhile, Quantum Field Theory, the bedrock of modern physics, reveals a universe woven from dynamic fields, probabilistic events, and continuous processes of interaction.

Reference
Rereading Mulla Sadra’s Substantial Motion: Bridging Whiteheadian Process Philosophy and Quantum Ontology by Abolfazl Minaee

Abstract

This study undertakes a profound exploration of the conceptual convergences among Mulla Sadra’s doctrine of al-ḥarakat al-jawhariyya (substantial motion), Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy, and contemporary quantum ontology, aiming to forge a novel metaphysical synthesis that bridges Islamic philosophy with modern philosophy of science.

Through an intricate comparative and conceptual analysis, it argues that Sadra’s dynamic ontology of becoming offers a robust framework for interpreting Whiteheaud’s processual metaphysics while simultaneously providing a unique lens to address interpretive challenges in quantum mechanics, such as wave function collapse, quantum entanglement, and superposition.

By meticulously identifying shared ontological commitments to flux, relationality, and emergence, this paper proposes substantial motion as a unifying metaphysical paradigm that transcends cultural and disciplinary boundaries.

This interdisciplinary endeavor not only fosters a cross-cultural dialogue but also contributes to a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the nature of being in a quantum world, inviting philosophers to reconsider the foundations of reality through a processual lens.

REVIEW OF SADRA'S PROCESSUAL ONTOLOGY

1. Islamic Metaphysical Origin (Mulla Sadra, 17th c.)

• Philosopher: Mulla Sadra (Islamic Iran, Transcendent Theosophy)
• Core Idea: Not only accidents (qualities, quantities) but substance itself is in constant motion.
• Classical Aristotelian thought saw substances as fixed while qualities (color, place, size) change.
• Mulla Sadra flipped this: "Substance is in continuous ontological flow—changing, becoming, never fixed."

Result:

• The universe is a ceaselessly renewing tide of being.
• God is the ultimate cause of this ongoing creative flow.
• Existence itself is dynamic, becoming is reality.

2. Comparison to Islamic Theology:

• Though built within Shi'a Islamic metaphysics, Sadra's idea was philosophical, bridging theology, cosmology, and ontology.

• It aligns with Islamic concepts of God as ever-creating (al-Khaliq) but isn't core to Qur'anic doctrine.

3. Comparison to Physical Science

Is Sadra's theosophy a physical science? No—but...

• It’s a metaphysical doctrine, not derived from physics experiments.

• It philosophically anticipates later ideas like process ontology and dynamic fields in physics.

• Contemporary physics (e.g., field theory, quantum fluctuations) finds resonance, but substantial motion remains a philosophical stance, not a scientific theory.

4. Comparison to Process Philosophy

• Whitehead’s Process Philosophy similarly holds:

• > “Actuality is a process of becoming, not a substance persisting through change.”

• Both reject static substance metaphysics.

• Both suggest reality is constituted by dynamic, interrelated processes.

5. Summary

• Aspect - Substantial Motion
• Origin - Islamic Philosophy (Mulla Sadra)
• Domain - Metaphysics, not physics
• Core Concept - Substance itself is in continuous change
• Relation to Islam - A philosophical reading within Shi'a tradition
• Modern Resonance - Similar to Process Philosophy & Quantum Process
• Science? - No, but overlaps conceptually with dynamic field theories

6. Diagram

Here is a visual alignment of Mulla Sadra’s Substantial Motion, Whitehead’s Process Philosophy, and Quantum Field Theory:

• Mulla Sadra (Islamic Metaphysics) - Theosophical, substance in motion

• Whitehead (Process Philosophy) - Ontological, becoming and relationality

• Quantum Field Theory (Modern Physics) - Empirical, fluctuating quantum fields

• They converge on dynamic ontology, relational being, and processual becoming, though each arises from distinct traditions: metaphysical, philosophical, or scientific.

CONCLUSION

The alignment of Substantial Motion, Process Philosophy, and Quantum Field Theory reveals a fascinating cross-cultural and interdisciplinary convergence: reality, at its deepest levels, is dynamic, interrelated, and perpetually in motion. Whether articulated through the theological metaphysics of Mulla Sadra, the philosophical constructs of Whitehead, or the empirical models of quantum physics, this shared vision suggests a profound metaphysical intuition running beneath the surface of human thought across centuries and civilizations.

Rather than isolated insights, these traditions together underscore a metamodern realization: existence is a flowing, unfolding tapestry of becoming. This synthesis offers not just a conceptual framework but also a powerful invitation - to embrace a worldview that honors process, fosters relational understanding, and recognizes the deep, dynamic interconnectedness of all things

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A Poem
A Dance of Becoming
by R.E. Slateŕ and ChatGPT

From ancient scrolls and scholar’s pen,
To quantum fields beyond our ken,
A single thread through time does weave —
All things in motion, all things perceive.

Sadra saw the world in flow,
A ceaseless pulse in all we know.
Whitehead drew the cosmic chart,
Of fleeting moments, and worlds that start.

The physicist in labs confined,
Found dancing fields that seeming fate designed.
Across vast spaces and through the small,
Cosmic processes bind, enfolding all.

Then let us learn this subtle art —
To see the whole within each part.
The world as song, as shifting stream,
As living, breathing, woven dream.

What is Process Panexperientialism?

In each fleeting moment,

all things touch,

alive with the pulse of experience,

woven in a web of becoming.

- re slater

 

Each spark of feeling,
from stone to star,
joins the dance of the world—
we are all in relationship

from atomic force to sentient being.

- re slater

In the heart of process,
each is both subject and object,
bound in a web of shared experience,
becoming, always becoming....

- re slater

[All brackets are mine] - re slater

Panexperientialist theologies begin with the idea that experience is fundamental to the whole of things. Long before there was life on earth, and before the evolution of the earth itself, there was something like experience. The entire ongoing of the evolution of the cosmic universe is an evolution of experience. Experience is not consciousness. Consciousness is an emergent property just as time is [e.g., cosmic space creates time, thus making of time an emergent property of physical space].

Some experience is conscious but much not. Experience is the activity of "prehending something other" and being influenced by what is prehended. This page outlines one version of a panexperientialist theology rooted in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. Others can likewise be developed: indigenous theologies, Hindu theologies, Buddhist theologies, Jewish theologies, Muslim theologies, and Christian theologies. All would begin with the shared idea that experience is everywhere and that the universe itself is, in some deep sense, a "living cosmos" that is new at every moment.

- Jay McDaniel

The universe hums with feeling,
from the smallest atom to the deepest soul,
experiencing, creating, in

endless flows of connection.

- re slater

All things feel,
all things are touched,
all worlds unfold in the

meeting of things,

hearts and minds.

- re slater

In every pulse of time,
there is a meeting of souls,
as all things arise together -

in symphonies of shared

experience.

- re slater

​Panexperiential Theology

article link

A Living Cosmos and the

Perpetual Newness of God

by Jay McDaniel

In the flow of process,
we are neither fixed nor free,
but woven in the fabric of the now,
experiencing each other’s becoming.

- re slater

What is Panexperientialism?

Panexperientialism is the idea that "experience" is not confined to human consciousness but extends throughout the depths of matter and into the vast reaches of the galaxies. Understood in this way, "experience" need not involve consciousness as in clear perception (e.g. visual awareness). Nor need it involve intellectual awareness as in the conscious reflection on ideas, memories, or goals. Experience can be non-conscious and non-intellectual but still be "experience." It is the activity of feeling or "prehending" something other and being influenced by it in some way. Wherever energetic transactions occur between entities—whether among living cells, atomic events, or stellar processes—experience is present, as it is, of course, in human beings and other animals, serving as the connective tissue between entities. It carries an element of interiority or "subjective immediacy," suggesting that something akin to subjectivity exists universally. Consequently, the objective world we see, hear, and touch is an expression of this pervasive subjectivity. The objective world, then, is an objectification of subjective experience.

One value of this way of looking at things is that it encourages us to live with respect and care for the whole of the material world, both biological and trans-biological. Another is that it invites us to imagine sacrality itself as part of, not apart from, a panexperiential world.

Entire theological frameworks--panexperientialist theologies—can be constructed on this foundation. They begin with the idea that experience is fundamental, not simply to human life but to the whole of things. This page outlines one version of a panexperientialist theology rooted in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. Others can likewise be developed: indigenous theologies, Hindu theologies, Buddhist theologies, Jewish theologies, Muslim theologies, and Christian theologies. All would begin with the shared idea that the universe, one way or another, is alive with subjective immediacy, valuable in its own right.

Outline of a Whiteheadian Approach

Cosmic Evolution and the Emergence of Life

The universe, approximately 14 billion years old, has evolved through stars, galaxies, and planets, eventually giving rise to life on Earth. It is still evolving. Conventional vs. Panexperiential Views of Experience

A common view holds that early cosmic processes were devoid of experience, with subjective awareness emerging only later with biological life. Whitehead offers a different perspective, suggesting that experience—however primitive—has been present from the universe’s beginning.

Energy as Feeling

For Whitehead, energy and feeling are inseparable; even subatomic events involve basic forms of attraction, repulsion, and responsiveness. Every transfer of energy involves not just physical force but also a rudimentary kind of subjective experience, or "prehension."

Quantum Events and Human Experience

Whitehead suggests a continuity between quantum events and human experiences, where both involve moments of responsiveness without requiring self-awareness. Human experience consists mostly of preconscious sensations, emotions, and bodily awareness—similar in essence to quantum interactions.

Spontaneity and Self-Creativity

Neither quantum events nor human experiences are entirely determined by the past; each involves spontaneity and creativity. Whitehead describes this as “self-creativity,” where unfulfilled possibilities shape the present and help guide it toward novel outcomes.

Prehension as Felt Connections

Prehension is the process by which events integrate past influences and potential futures into each unfolding moment. This process involves more than information transfer—it includes a felt connection with possibilities, guiding each moment toward satisfaction and fulfillment.

Seeking Intensity through Contrasts

Both quantum events and human experiences seek intensity, achieved through the integration of contrasting elements. This contrast fosters novelty and depth in human emotions and in cosmic processes, enriching the creative advance of the universe.

Inanimate Objects and Prehending Events

Even seemingly inanimate objects, like rocks, consist of prehending events at the quantum level, though they lack spontaneity and self-organization. Whitehead distinguishes between mechanical unities (e.g., rocks) and organic unities, where interactions create emergent complexity and self-organization.

Value as Intrinsic to the Universe

Experience inherently carries value, with each moment seeking satisfaction and self-enjoyment. Value exists in the act of becoming itself, independent of consciousness, and is woven into the evolving universe from the very beginning.

The Universe as a Creative Advance into Novelty At the heart of Whitehead’s process philosophy is the idea that the universe is a continual creative advance into novelty. Reality consists of moments of experience that, through their spontaneous self-creativity, add something new to the unfolding process of time. Creativity, in this view, is not merely a property of particular beings but the ultimate reality underlying all things. It is through this ceaseless creativity that both order and novelty emerge in every moment of the universe. This advance into novelty makes life unpredictable, opening space for innovation and transformation at every level—from quantum events to human choices.

God as the Lure of Beauty

God participates in the unfolding cosmos by offering potentialities—called "eternal objects"—that guide events toward beauty and fulfillment. As both a source of new possibilities and a receptive presence for all experiences, God embodies a dynamic relationship with the universe, inviting every moment to contribute to the evolving harmony of creation.

The Perpetual Newness of God. God is evolving is that new events that happen in the universe, given its creative advance into novelty, add contents to the life of God that not exist to be felt or known theretofore; and in the sense that these new events add new potentials to God, to lure the universe and to enjoy contrasts, that did not exist theretofore, even for God.

Further Discussion

The Universe as a Process of Becoming

We are told that the universe as we know it is approximately 14 billion years old. It has been evolving ever since—into stars, galaxies, planets, moons, and, at least on our planet (and probably elsewhere), what we call life. "Life" has many definitions, but for now, let us assume that to be alive is to possess something like feeling or experience.

It is tempting to believe that, before a certain stage in cosmic evolution, there was no experience at all—no interiority, no emotion, no prehending, no attraction or repulsion, no feeling. According to this view, the early universe consisted solely of energy and force transfers, devoid of any subjective dimension. Consciousness and experience would have emerged only later, perhaps with the advent of biological complexity. Until that point, the universe would have been a realm of purely physical interactions, lacking any trace of interiority or feeling.

The Whiteheadian Alternative: Energy = Feeling

Alfred North Whitehead offers a radically different view. He proposes that what we call "energy" at the subatomic level is not distinct from experience but is itself a primitive form of feeling. Energy, in this view, is not merely an objective force exchanged between particles—it is a form of prehension. Wherever there is energy, there is some degree of feeling, however rudimentary. The interactions of subatomic particles are not devoid of experience but involve basic forms of attraction, repulsion, and responsiveness. Energy transfers, therefore, are not merely physical events but also moments of subjective experience—simple, unconscious feelings, or "prehensions."

This perspective suggests that the universe has always contained an element of subjectivity—an interior dimension present from its earliest moments. Prehension did not emerge with life; it has been present all along, shaping the evolution of the cosmos at every level. Energy and feeling, as Whitehead sees it, are inseparable aspects of the same process of becoming.

Quantum Events and Human Experience

If this panexperiential view is correct, it implies that quantum events—occurring deep within atoms just after the Big Bang—are of the same kind as moments of human experience. Both, in their way, are alive.

What connects a moment of human experience to a quantum event? Neither is conscious in the traditional sense. They do not involve perceiving objects with the clarity of human sight, nor do they engage in self-reflection. Quantum events, like most of our everyday experiences, lack conscious perception or reflective awareness. Even when we are awake, moments of clear perception are rare. Much of our experience consists of bodily sensations, emotions, desires, and preconscious memories.

To grasp the connection between quantum events and human experiences, we need to move beyond conventional ideas of consciousness. Neither requires self-awareness or the sense of being distinct from the world. Both unfold in response to what came before, shaped by prior influences. Whitehead describes this responsiveness as experience in the mode of causal efficacy.

Spontaneity and Self-Creativity

Yet, neither quantum events nor human experiences are fully determined by the past. There is always an element of spontaneity—what Whitehead calls self-creativity. In both cases, experience arises from the intersection of past influences and spontaneous aliveness. Unfulfilled possibilities from the future also shape the present, acting as attractors, much like probabilities in quantum theory, drawing events toward particular outcomes.

Prehension and Subjectivity

Whitehead introduces the concept of prehension to describe how events—whether human or quantum—incorporate past influences and future possibilities. Prehension is not a conscious process but a way of feeling both what has been and what could be. It integrates the past and potential futures into each unfolding moment.

Prehension involves more than just information transfer; it entails a felt connection. Both quantum events and human experiences respond to relevant past influences and potential futures. These potentials serve as lures or subjective aims, guiding events toward certain outcomes.

Every experience, whether human or quantum, contains what Whitehead calls subjective immediacy: an inner aliveness unique to the present moment. Both human experiences and quantum events are moments of experience—or actual occasions—each with its own subjective immediacy. There is an ontological continuity between them: both involve prehension, and both seek some form of satisfaction in the process of becoming.

The Aim Toward Intensity and the Role of Contrast

What do quantum events and human experiences seek? According to Whitehead, they seek intensity—or, more precisely, satisfying intensity. Both aim to achieve a kind of fulfillment unique to their moment. This pursuit introduces novelty into the world, contributing to the ongoing creative advance of the cosmos.

Contrast plays a key role in generating intensity. In human experience, contrasting emotions or perspectives deepen awareness and amplify meaning. Similarly, quantum events achieve intensity by integrating past influences with unrealized future possibilities. Without contrast, experience would lack the tension necessary to generate novelty and richness.

In human life, this felt preference for certain influences over others manifests as emotions. Even at the quantum level, Whitehead suggests that events have subjective forms—a rudimentary form of emotion or responsiveness. Emotions, contrasts, and prehensions are not exclusive to humans but are present throughout the cosmos. Subjective forms, the "clothing" of prehensions, embody the contrasts that give rise to intensity.

What About Rocks?

Some objects—like rocks—seem devoid of agency. It may seem odd to suggest that rocks are alive in any meaningful way. Whitehead acknowledges this intuition, explaining that rocks are not themselves prehending realities but aggregates of prehending events. These aggregates, or nexuses, are complex groupings of countless events where prehension occurs at the quantum level.

Whitehead distinguishes between mechanical and organic unities. Rocks, as aggregates, are mechanical wholes—the sum of their parts, lacking spontaneity and self-organization. In contrast, organic wholes have emergent unities, where the interaction of parts creates something more than their sum.

It’s also important to note that matter takes many forms—not just solid objects like rocks. Matter can exist as liquids, gases, plasmas, and other dynamic states. Some forms, like fluids, contain seeds of self-organizing creativity absent in solids. Whitehead’s view invites us to move beyond the idea of matter as static, recognizing that all matter participates in processes of becoming.

Value in the Universe

Our universe consists of experiential moments and the aggregates (nexuses or societies) they form. But what about value? Is value inherent in the universe?

For Whitehead, the answer is yes. Value resides in the act of experiencing itself—in the self-enjoyment that arises from each moment of becoming. Every momentary experience seeks satisfaction, and this pursuit of value is intrinsic to its being. The universe, in evolving, is also evolving in value—developing capacities for feeling, enjoyment, and satisfaction.

Importantly, value does not depend on consciousness. Experience has been present in the universe from the beginning, while consciousness emerged later. Value precedes consciousness and is woven into the fabric of existence.

God, Beauty, and Eternal Objects

At the heart of the universe is God—understood as the complex unity of the cosmos, a living whole with a life of its own. God is not separate from the unfolding process of becoming but actively participates in it, luring the universe toward heightened forms of value wherever possible. God offers possibilities that align with each moment’s circumstances, always seeking beauty in the form of harmonious intensity.

Integral to this process are eternal objects—timeless potentialities that exist within the mind of God. These eternal objects are not merely abstract possibilities; they represent forms of value, beauty, and meaning that are always available to the universe. However, they are only made relevant "in due season"—that is, they become available to particular events when conditions align, guiding the universe toward new possibilities. These eternal objects act as divine lures, drawing creation toward more profound expressions of harmony, novelty, and satisfaction.

Beauty

If we see one word to name the subjective aim of the the living whole of the universe, of God, it might be Beauty.

Beauty, in this sense, is more than aesthetic pleasure—it is the harmonious integration of contrasting elements into satisfying forms of intensity. Every moment of beauty achieved in the universe is retained within the ongoing life of God, who serves as an empathic receptacle for all that happens. God holds the joys and sorrows of every occasion, weaving them into a larger pattern of meaning and value.

Two forms of Beauty that are especially important in human life, and perhaps in other forms as well, are Truth and Goodness. Truth is not an object to be attained, It is a name for the act of experiencing and responding to the world in a way that is responsive to the way the world truly is. Truth is the activity of seeking rapport, or correspondence, with how things stand, however they stand. Goodness is a name for seeking to foster the well-being of life. One ultimate expression of Goodness, thus understood, is Love.

This dynamic relationship between God and the the living cosmos is not coercive but persuasive. God offers possibilities—lures toward beauty—but their realization depends on the cooperation of each moment and its circumstances. As the universe unfolds, beauty emerges wherever contrasting elements are synthesized into enriching forms of intensity, contributing to the greater whole.

God, as both the source of eternal potentialities and the receptive heart of all experience, embodies a dual role: offering the world new possibilities while receiving and preserving each moment of experience. In this way, the universe is both a creative adventure and a profound act of participation in divine beauty. Every experience, no matter how small or fleeting, contributes to the ongoing evolution of beauty and value within the life of God.

Whitehead's Metaphysics

Actual Entities

An actual entity is a moment of concrescence—a moment of experience in which the many entities of the past actual world are felt and gathered into the unity of a subjective whole. In each actual entity, "the many become one, and are increased by one." This gathering includes the self-creativity and self-enjoyment of the entity, as it unifies influences from the past and brings forth something new. Actual entities are multiple and thus different from one another. Each entity arises with its own distinct characteristics, shaped by its unique prehensions and subjective forms. Once completed, an actual entity perishes as a subjective experience but continues to exist objectively, contributing to future moments of experience. This process exemplifies the dynamic nature of reality—each actual entity participates in the ongoing creative advance of the universe by transforming the past into novelty.

Prehensions

Prehensions refer to the ways actual entities relate to and "take account of" one another. This concept captures how an entity feels or grasps another entity—not conceptually, but experientially. Prehensions are the building blocks of relationships, with each actual entity prehending others through positive (inclusive) or negative (exclusive) feelings. These prehensive relations allow all things to participate in one another’s becoming, embodying the interconnectedness of all entities.

Nexus (or Nexūs)

A nexus is a network of actual entities related through shared prehensions, forming structured webs of interconnected experiences. Some nexūs take on enduring forms called societies, where occasions of experience inherit common characteristics from one another, creating patterns of continuity.

Corpuscular societies: These consist of relatively stable entities, such as atoms or molecules, which persist across time by maintaining coherence.

Personally ordered societies: These are sequences of experiences that form personal identities, such as the stream of consciousness that constitutes a person’s life. Each occasion builds on its predecessors, creating personal continuity and coherence over time.

Nexūs and societies reveal how individual occasions of experience participate in larger patterns of becoming, connecting everything from microscopic particles to human lives in an ongoing process of transformation.

Subjective Forms

Subjective forms refer to the emotional or qualitative tone that shapes how an entity experiences the world. These forms influence how prehensions are integrated, giving each experience a unique emotional quality. For example, one person might feel rain as melancholic, while another experiences it as refreshing. Subjective forms guide how entities respond to and integrate the influences they prehend, adding emotional depth to experience.

Eternal Objects

Eternal objects are pure potentials—abstract qualities or possibilities that actual entities can take up in their becoming. They are not confined to any specific event but exist as timeless potentials. For example, the quality "redness" is an eternal object that can manifest across different instances and contexts. Eternal objects provide the abstract building blocks that influence the unique character of each experience.

Propositions

Propositions are lures for feeling—imaginative suggestions that invite actual entities to explore certain possibilities. They function as speculative invitations, guiding the creative process by proposing how things might be. A proposition is not merely a factual statement but a suggestion for novelty and change. For example, an artist may consider a proposition that offers a new way to combine colors. Propositions help entities integrate new potentials, influencing both artistic creation and practical problem-solving.

Multiplicities

Multiplicities are diverse entities that exist in disjunction from one another. They may consist of actualities (such as actual entities) or potentialities (such as eternal objects). As truly distinct, multiplicities are not yet unified into the togetherness of an actual occasion of experience. A particular moment of experience (or actual entity) gathers these disparate elements into unity, but outside such unification, the universe remains a multiplicity. In this sense, multiplicities represent the richness of possibilities that are yet to be integrated.

Contrasts

Contrasts refer to patterns of difference or opposition that are either harmonized or remain in tension within experiences. These contrasts give shape and complexity to reality by bringing together opposing elements. For example, a melody is enriched by contrasts between high and low notes, and a life story is enriched by the interplay of joy and sorrow. Contrasts are essential to the depth and texture of experience, embodying both harmony and tension within each moment.

Creativity

Creativity is the “ultimate of ultimates,” the underlying activity expressed in all actualities. It manifests as the self-creativity of each actual entity through concrescence—the integration of many influences into a unified moment of experience. This process also involves transition, where the subjective immediacy of an entity perishes but lives on as objectively immortal in the experiences of future entities. Creativity is the driving force behind the novelty in the universe, enabling the ongoing process of becoming through which the past transforms into something new.

God

God encompasses three aspects, offering a relational and evolving presence in the universe:

• Primordial Nature:

• This is God's conceptual aspect, holding all eternal objects as pure possibilities. It represents the timeless realm of potentiality, offering the raw materials from which new experiences emerge.

• Consequent Nature:

• This is God’s empathic reception of all that happens, integrating every experience into the divine life. God feels the world, weaving all joys and sufferings into a coherent whole, continuously expanding in response to the world's becoming. God’s consequent nature ensures that no moment of experience is ever lost, as every event contributes to the unfolding divine reality.

• Superjective Nature:

• This is God's influence on the world, luring creatures toward new possibilities. The superjective nature represents the way God inspires and persuades actual entities toward greater beauty, truth, and harmony, without coercion. God’s power lies not in domination but in invitation—offering new possibilities and guiding the world toward creative advance.