Center for Process Studies

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Center for Process Studies

Conducting research and providing resources on holistic thinking for the advancement of wellbeing. Cobb, Jr.

Influenced by the work of philosopher and mathematician Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947), CPS was founded in 1973 by professors John B. and David Ray Griffin to conduct cutting edge interdisciplinary research guided by the view that interconnection, change, and intrinsic value are core features of the universe. CPS seeks to harmonize fragmented disciplinary thinking in order to develop more integrated and holistic modes of thought. Through innovative conferences, courses, and events, a visiting scholars program, several book series, a peer-reviewed journal, and the world’s largest library/archives of process-relational thought, CPS explores the implications of process principles across a range of disciplines and topics in science, ecology, psychology, philosophy, religion, education, art, political theory, and more.

09/28/2026

In this presentation on running for office during the present moment of time, Doug Corbitt will share his experiences running as a Democrat in a rural, poor, very Red district in Arkansas. He will speak to why he thinks it worth the effort, what he has learned, and what he has found most surprising.

Learn more & RSVP: https://ctr4process.org/event/running-for-office-in-a-very-red-state-with-doug-corbitt/

09/27/2026

Nothing [is] momentous enough to monopolize the whole of life to the exclusion of laughter.

-Alfred North Whitehead, Dialogues of A. N. Whitehead: As Recorded by Lucien Price, p. 55

09/26/2026

In the latest post on the CPS blog, Ruth Kastner carries Iain McGilchrist's thesis about the divided brain into the foundations of physics. The quantum level, she argues, is the true Master, and the classical world only its Emissary: a user interface between the observer and the whole of physical reality. Reading that asymmetry through the Taoist pairing of Yang and Yin, she shows how Western science has built itself on Yang-only assumptions of unilateral emission, locality, and separable objects, and how restoring the neglected Yin element (the active response of absorbers, formalized in the Transactional Interpretation) dissolves the measurement problem while recasting nonlocality and indeterminacy as features rather than defects. She closes by aligning the account with Whitehead's prehension, suggesting that physics' long avoidance of process philosophy rests on an unexamined loyalty to Cartesian dead matter.

Read the full piece: https://ctr4process.org/article/the-quantum-master-and-its-classical-emissary/

09/25/2026

Over the course of several weeks in July, an international group of process scholars and practitioners traveled across China, participating in a remarkable series of gatherings exploring the relevance of process-relational thought to some of the most pressing questions of our time. From a decade-long daily reading group in Harbin to ecovillages and rural communities, from experiments in educational transformation to one of the most international gatherings devoted to Whitehead’s thought, the journey offered a vivid picture of a movement that is at once deeply rooted and continuing to grow in new directions.

The initial traveling group included Kevin Clark (USA), Vesselin Petrov (Bulgaria), Zhihe Wang (China), Yang Li (China), and Andrew Schwartz (USA). As the journey continued south, additional colleagues from Europe, North America, Korea, and elsewhere joined the group, making the journey itself a kind of traveling international community of dialogue and collaboration.

Looking back across these weeks, what stands out most is the extraordinary range of contexts in which process-relational ideas are now being explored. The journey from Harbin to Shenzhen covered thousands of kilometers. But the deeper journey is one that continues: from ideas to practice, from inherited traditions to new possibilities, and from separate communities toward a growing global network committed to exploring what a more relational and ecological civilization might become.

Read the full reflection from Wm. Andrew Schwartz: https://ctr4process.org/a-journey-in-process-reflections-on-a-remarkable-month-in-china/

09/24/2026

This book serves as a gentle primer on the philosophy of mind for those wishing to directly explore the strange subjective aspects of psychedelics, providing the means for novices to get to grips with the mind before disrupting it. The discussion includes both classic issues from philosophy of mind, as well as more recent developments in the science of mind. It is set across six key thematic areas: The Hard Problem of Consciousness; Problems of Measurement; Kinds of Minds; The Relation between Mind and World; Problems of Selfhood; and Making sense of Altered States. An introductory chapter orients readers in the basics of philosophical thinking concerning the nature of the mind. This text appeals to researchers and students in philosophy as well as to the general audience.

Get a copy: https://ctr4process.org/new-book/philosophy-of-mind-for-the-budding-psychonaut-a-guide/

09/23/2026

What is needed is to learn afresh, to observe, and to discover for ourselves the meaning of wholeness.

-David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order, p. 30

09/22/2026

We’re very happy to announce the opening of our first online gallery, featuring works by members of SPARKS, the arts collective of the Center for Process Studies. The theme is Concrescence.

This theme invites works that explore moments of gathering, transformation, and emergence. Concrescence may show up in your art as the layering of memories, the blending of voices or sounds, the combining of colors or textures, or the shaping of many influences into a single expression.

Concresence features nine artists working across a wide variety of different mediums—we invite you to explore their work in the virtual gallery!

Learn more & explore the virtual gallery: https://ctr4process.org/concresence-the-many-become-one-now-showing-in-sparks-online-gallery/

09/21/2026

The Center for Process Studies (CPS) has been awarded a grant ( #63861) from the John Templeton Foundation to launch an innovative interdisciplinary project entitled Modern Meaning: Spiritual Yearning and the Quest for a Flourishing World. The initiative brings together scholars from philosophy, theology, psychology, and the natural sciences to investigate one of the defining questions of our time: How can contemporary understandings of the universe support lives of meaning, purpose, and hope?

Across many disciplines, researchers have noted growing concern about a modern “meaning crisis,” particularly among younger adults, alongside renewed philosophical and scientific interest in questions of consciousness, intelligence, and the nature of reality. The project will explore how different philosophical, metaphysical, and theological frameworks—including panentheistic, panpsychic, and process-relational perspectives—may help illuminate these questions while remaining in constructive dialogue with contemporary science.

“Our goal is not to advance a single worldview as the final answer,” said project lead Dr. Sheri D. Kling. “Rather, we want to create a rigorous interdisciplinary conversation that asks whether emerging understandings of mind, nature, and value can contribute to a more coherent and meaningful vision of reality—one that resonates both intellectually and existentially.”

Read the full announcement: https://ctr4process.org/cps-receives-john-templeton-foundation-grant-to-explore-meaning-mind-and-human-flourishing-in-a-scientific-age/

09/20/2026

Decay, Transition, Loss, Displacement belong to the essence of the Creative Advance… Amid the passing of so much beauty, so much heroism, so much daring, peace is then the intuition of permanence.

-Alfred North Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas, p. 286

09/19/2026

The fall series of Process Explorations explores Compassion, Creativity, and Global Citizenship. At a time when many parts of the world are in political, economic, ecological, and ethical turmoil, what might process thought and ways of life contribute to the deepening of compassion and creativity and to practices of global citizenship? The session on September 22 explores this question through the lives of three remarkable persons who contributed in quite different ways to the quality of life in the United States, both for human communities and for the entire ecosphere.

The three figures include Wendell Berry, whose return to simplified life, farming, and writing in his native Kentucky has inspired individuals and even large communities in ecological living. Philip Clayton, a leading architect of the Ecological Civilization movement will reflect on Berry’s life. Speaking to Gloria Steinem will be Lynn De Jonghe, a strong feminist herself and an educator, author, and poet. Finally, Dolly Parton’s life and work will be excavated by May Hartness, recognizing Parton’s generosity of spirit, extraordinary musical talent, and unforgettable wit. May is the Contextual Education Officer at the Boston University School of Theology and a Master of Fine Arts student at Emerson College.

These three presenters will uncover important insights that can expand human understandings and practices of compassion and creativity and enhance citizenship in the world.

Learn more & RSVP: https://ctr4process.org/event/remembering-transformative-leaders-wendell-berry-gloria-steinem-dolly-parton/

Address

5678 SE Harlene Street
Milwaukie, OR
97222

Telephone

+15034802344

Website

http://www.ctr4process.org/

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