So I did a thing …

Get your mind out of the gutter, it was nothing like that. I did a presentation at the Personalist Forum conference, which happened to take place fairly close to where I live. (Normally it is at Western Carolina University, but due to scheduling conflicts had to be moved.) This year’s venue was at the American Institute of Philosophical and Cultural Thought, here in Southern Illinois. The topic is about learning the basic tools needed to genuinely follow Whitehead’s thought. The title is Learning the “Language,” where ‘language’ is very deliberately scare quoted.

This talk came hard on the heels (as opposed to “heals,” though that too is relevant in an ironic way) of a major surgery I’d just been through. While complicated enough under the best of circumstances, my procedure proved to be especially difficult. By all estimates, I came through it with flying colors, but I was still quite punchy at the time I made my presentation. I mention this in the talk.

That being said, it came off quite well. The subject is “close to my heart,” as it were, and even working from nothing more than an outline I was able to present my case. As I say in the talk, my hope is and remains that the failings of the presentation and the presenter do not mask the fact that there is a legitimate issue and complaint involved in much of existing Whitehead scholarship. Below is the suggested reading list I handed out at the talk, which I’ve expanded a little for this blog post.

As a rule, I despise pictures of myself, and find videos simply unwatchable. I did finally watch this one, and it is less execrable than one might otherwise suppose.

Suggested Readings

Habit of thought:

Alfred North Whitehead, Principles of Mathematics (New York: Henry Holt, 1911.) Free for the download from Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41568

Philip J. Davis and Reuben Hersh, The Mathematical Experience (New York: Harper Paperbacks, 1999.) This book really cannot be praised enough, a book that everyone should read regardless of their interest in Whitehead.

Morris Kline, Mathematics for the Nonmathematician (Mineola: Dover Books, 1985.)

George Polya, Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning, vol. 1 & 2 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990.)

Thomas Tymoczko (Editor), New Directions in the Philosophy of Mathematics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998.) Part of the effort to understand mathematics as inquiry, rather than set theory done badly.

Hermann Weyl, Symmetry (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.) One of those books that earns the label “classic,” this introduces some of the essential characteristics of group theory without getting into a lot of mathematics.

History:

Edna Kramer, Nature and Growth of Modern Mathematics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.) For my money, hands down the best general history out there. So of course it is out of print, impossible to find, and insanely expensive.

Morris Kline, Mathematical Thought From Ancient to Modern Times, volumes 1 – 3 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.) Pretty good, and at least it can be had without mortgaging your first born child.

Leo Corry, Modern Algebra and the Rise of Mathematical Structures (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2003.) This is an outstanding book, delving into the origins and problems that led to the emergence of abstract algebra, from the 1820’s to the 1940’s. Whitehead is discussed, but not very closely. Still, the nature of abstract algebra is developed in its historical context to a degree not available anywhere else. By my standards, the book is on the pricey side, but still well worth the investment

Abstract Algebra:

There are plenty of good books out there. The trouble is that it is quite difficult to get your head wrapped around the topic w/o some kind of mentor (i.e., math professor) there to help you out. Keep in mind that math books are the hardest to copy edit, because the editor must be as good at math as the author (which never happens.) So you’ll find yourself up against a wall where you’re wondering if you simply don’t understand what’s being said, or if there’s a typographical error in the text. I solved the problem by getting an MA at DePaul.

But if you want to give it a go on your own, most any intro book from Dover will do:

https://doverpublications.ecomm-search.com/search?keywords=abstract+algebra

Special mention for:

Nathan Jacobson, Basic Algebra, vol. I & II (Mineola: Dover Publishing, 2009.) These two volumes are exceptional for their comprehensiveness. I originally acquired these books as first edition hard covers, back when a hard cover cost a little less than a new car. I liked them well enough that when I discovered that Dover had them as eBooks I purchased them again so that I’d have a copy on my kindle. Be warned, though: the “basic” in the title is a tad misleading. These are the books that convinced me I needed to return to graduate school to learn abstract algebra.