The Critical Edition of Whitehead’s Writings is an ambitious scholarly project managed by the Whitehead Research Project and supported by the Center for Process Studies. Its goal is to produce a definitive, annotated edition of the complete writings of British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947). This edition is the first to comprehensively collect Whitehead’s published and unpublished works, including manuscripts, typescripts, lectures, and personal notes, many of which were previously inaccessible to scholars.
Whitehead’s influence spans mathematics, logic, philosophy of science, metaphysics, and education. Best known for co-authoring Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell and later for developing process philosophy in works like Process and Reality, Whitehead’s thought remains vital across disciplines. The critical edition offers scholars a clearer view of the development of Whitehead’s ideas over time, particularly the transition from his early mathematical work to his later metaphysical philosophy.
The project employs modern digital humanities methodologies, including TEI-XML encoding and scholarly annotations, to ensure accurate, accessible representations of Whitehead’s texts. Editions are produced both in print and online formats, allowing for wide scholarly engagement. The edition is being released in thematic and chronological volumes, with attention to editorial rigor and contextual richness. This work not only preserves a critical figure in 20th-century thought but also opens new pathways for interdisciplinary research in metaphysics, theology, ecology, and the sciences.
