Social Psychology Professor is among the team of editors behind the special edition of ‘Human Affairs’

Paul Stenner, Professor of Social Psychology at The Open University and the Executive Director of the International Process Network (IPN), is among the team of editors behind the special edition of the journal Human Affairs, focused on revolutionary philosopher Alfred North Whitehead's theories and their relevance to psychology and the social sciences today.

Prior to his death in 1947, A.N. Whitehead was considered to have revolutionised philosophy, though few people have heard of him these days. A mathematician and philosopher, Whitehead was responsible for bringing philosophy up to date with the latest developments in science, which led to a new concept of nature as 'an ever incomplete process'.

The importance of Whitehead's philosophy is now being re-discovered, both in terms of the influence it has already had on many sciences, and its potential to make sense of challenges which have long troubled disciplines like psychology. 

Together with Gabriel Bianchi and Lennart Posch, Professor Paul Stenner has edited the Special Issue (see Editors’ Introduction to the Special Issue) which contains an introduction and five main papers. This includes a freely available open access paper, written by Professor Paul Stenner, providing an overview of Whitehead’s career as a mathematician, theoretical physicist and philosopher, and pinpoints why his thought is so important today.

The Special Issue follows upon the 13th International Whitehead Conference which was held in the Munich School of Philosophy in July 2023.

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