Abstract

Whitehead never devoted the time to constructing a defined ethical theory. However, the possibility of generating a rich ethical theory by using Whitehead's tantalizing reflections on moral matters as well as his rich metaphysics has enticed a fair amount of interest within Whiteheadian scholarship. However, as of yet, there exists no commonly accepted, standard interpretation of such an extension. The difficulties hindering this project are due in large part to weighty obstacles. One of the foremost obstacles is the very diverse, often contradictory content of thought revealed in Whitehead's scattered reflections. The present work is devoted to coordinating these diverse reflections into a coherent theory of moral experience. I begin this project by demonstrating that Whitehead left scattered reflections throughout his works, that once coordinated, reveal that he consistently articulated and employed a threefold theory of the character of human experience. Then, by grafting Whitehead's notoriously diverse reflections on moral experience onto this threefold framework, these seemingly incompatible statements can be anchored and unified. The result of this effort is a type of textual recovery and reconstruction of Whitehead's thought. This reconstruction reveals a rich and insightful threefold conception of moral experience that provides a solid point of reference, heretofore missing, that can enable wider scale investigations into the implications of Whitehead's ethical views