About us

The writings of the British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead are often alluded to but neglected in detail in recent process thought and Continental philosophy in the UK, whilst Whiteheadian scholarship, including attention to its ecological dimensions, has been flourishing for the past century in the US.

At the same time, the now mainstream acknowledgement of the need to address climate change on an international scale is not yet matched by the integration of ‘ecological’ thinking into philosophical research. This cross-disciplinary network seeks to address both sets of problems.

Process Philosophy

Firstly, it will address the lack of UK-US collaborations between researchers in process philosophy, broadly conceived. It will promote the heritage of Whitehead studies through a dedicated UK-based network, that will be able to draw on the rich, if currently very disparate, approaches to process thought amongst UK scholars. For example, recent ‘Post-Kantian’ scholarship in the UK, Europe, and the US has concentrated on the legacy of Gilles Deleuze and other key twentieth-century French thinkers, leading to a resurgence of engagements with the writings of Henri Bergson, most recently in the Global Bergsonism Research Project launched in 2019 and a new journal of Bergson studies, Bergsoniana. Similar, if very specialized, interest in the work of Whitehead has been evident in mainland Europe through the European Society for Process Thought based in Düsseldorf, Germany. However, an equivalent research base, combining these strands is not evident in the UK. In addition, the recent AHRC-funded project on ‘Representing Biology as Process,’ led by philosopher of biology, John Dupré, artist, Gemma Anderson, and biologist, James Wakefield, brings their respective disciplines into conversation to explore visual means for thinking about biological processes, but it seeks to do so by setting itself apart from the process philosophies of Whitehead and Bergson.

The proposed UK-based network thus aims to draw together a much broader range of approaches to process thinking than any of the above projects thus far. It will lay the groundwork for innovative expansions of research in process thinking through cross-disciplinary activities. We also wish to tap into the recent ‘educational turn’ in the work of practising artists, in which reflections on their own methodologies yield novel concepts of ‘process’ with unexplored transformative potential for scholarship in process philosophy. Finally, Whilst the growth of what is more generally termed ‘environmental humanities’ (which encompasses critical animal studies and a wide range of other related approaches) is welcome, it risks remaining on the margins of more established philosophical fields. This network will provide a platform for brand-new scholarship that promotes the mainstream integration of these approaches into contemporary process philosophy.

The above movements thus complement the rich American traditions of process philosophy and theology in light of the works of Whitehead, and other process thinkers, reflected in the ongoing collaborative and interdisciplinary projects of the Center for Process Studies. Since its founding in 1973 by John B. Cobb Jr. and David Ray Griffin, the Center for Process Studies has directed process philosophical research towards various ecological themes. In June 2015, the Center for Process Studies organized the 10th International Whitehead Conference, ‘Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization.’ This major event claimed that an organic, relational, integrated, nondual and process conceptuality is needed, and that Whitehead provides a basis for this in a comprehensive and rigorous way. With over 2000 attendees, this conference inaugurated Process Century Press with its ecological, theological, and transdisciplinary book series which has now published dozens of books across these themes.

It is, therefore, timely to explore the links between the different configurations of process thinking and philosophies of nature and ecology in Continental thought across the UK and US, and how they might enrich one another and guide a renewed thinking of our relation to the environment and other species. To this end, the network will bring together scholars working in the above areas and provide a public-facing platform for current research that addresses concrete issues on the environment, climate change, and biodiversity that it is envisaged will appeal to new audiences within the charity sector and the general public as well as within academia.

Aims and Objectives


The focus of these foundational events, under the banner of ‘Process Ecologies’, reflects the challenge to think more holistically or ‘ecologically’ about the interdependencies of individual, society, and environment, as defined by Gregory Bateson’s Steps to an Ecology of Mind (1972) and Félix Guattari’s Three Ecologies (1989). Their work represents a significant intervention into current debates on the socio-political dimensions of modern environmental challenges, that require fundamental changes to the way we conceptualize and discuss our relationships with other species and our physical environment as well as changes to the way we live. With this ‘ecological’ approach in mind, the proposed network seeks to explore processual ideas of holism, cosmos, and environment, through the facilitation of discussions between scholars across the areas described above. Our main objectives are to:

  • (1) Facilitate international collaborations between researchers in process philosophy broadly conceived, with a special focus on UK-US collaborations.
  • (2) Promote the heritage of the work of the British philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, in the UK.
  • (3) Lay the groundwork for innovative research in process thinking through cross-disciplinary activities. The proposed network events will all feature special sessions focussing on the work of postgraduate researchers and early career scholars.
  • (4) Facilitate the ‘mainstream’ integration of critical animal studies and environmentalist approaches into contemporary continental and process philosophy.

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