알프레드 노쓰 화이트헤드(Alfred North Whitehead, 1861-1947)는 과정철학이라는 독특한 철학을 발전시킨 20세기의 위대한 철학자이다. 그가 주창한 과정철학은 흔히 유기체 철학(philosophy of organism)이라고 불리운다. 화이트헤드는 유기체적인 관점을 통해 철학의 근본 문제를 새롭게 설명하면서, 과학과 철학의 결합을 통해 매우 풍요로운 결실을 맺은 철학자로 평가받고 있다. 화이트헤드 본인도 밝혔듯이, 과정철학의 유기체적이며 관계적인 우주론은 서구 철학과 사상보다도 아시아의 사상과 많은 유사점을 지니고 있다는 점에서 한국의 현실에서 보다 제대로 이해될 수 있으며, 다양한 학문 영역과의 대화를 통해 새롭게 발전할 수 있을 것이다. 특히 화이트헤드 과정철학을 통해 얻게 되는 철학적 통찰은 우리나라의 교육 현실에 매우 적절하며 의미 있는 시사점을 제시할 수 있다. 오늘날 우리 사회가 처한 교육의 문제는 새로운 대안이나 개혁이 잘 못되었다기보다는 우리의 교육이 근거하고 있는 철학의 부재로 인해 발생했다고 볼 수 있기 때문이다.
현재 우리나라는 다문화 사회로 변해가고 있다. 그동안 단일민족이라는 신화를 중심으로 지탱해왔던 단일민족 국가라는 환상은 깨지고 있다. 1980년대부터 유입되기 시작한 외국인 노동자, 인종간의 결혼, 북한 이탈 주민 등으로 인해 우리 사회는 이제 다문화의 문제를 더 이상 외면할 수 없게 되었다. 이런 현실에서 다문화교육은 시대적으로 필수불가결한 교육의 내용이 되었다. 특히 다문화 이주민들의 건강문제를 담당하는 간호사들이 이들에게 보다 효과적이고 적절한 의료서비스를 제공하기 위해서는 다문화간호교육이 필수적이다. 본 논문에서는 화이트헤드의 과정철학이 시대적으로 요청되는 다문화간호교육에 철학적으로 어떤 의미를 줄 수 있는지 살펴보고자 한다. 이를 위해, 본 논문에서는 철학과 간호학의 융복합적인 관점에서 논의를 전개하고자 한다. 먼저, 화이트헤드 과정 철학의 개요에 대해 주요 범주들을 중심으로 살펴보고자 한다. 다음으로, 다문화간호교육의 개념을 살펴본 후, 화이트헤드의 과정철학이 다문화간호교육에게 주는 의미에 대해 논하고자 한다. 결론적으로 서로 상이한 성격을 지닌 철학과 간호학의 융복합적 연구가 지니는 의미와 한계 및 과제를 제시하고자 한다.
It is well known that Alfred N. Whitehead was one of the most important philosophical minds of the twentieth century. His special philosophic contribution lies in the comprehensiveness of his synthesis of the process point of view, and the exactness of his analysis of the relationship of the sciences and humanities. His philosophic vision continues to be applied in many areas of science, philosophy, and religion. Whitehead’s process philosophy provides a solid philosophical framework for a great diversity of human experience and belief. Above all, process philosophy, with its processive, organic, and relational cosmology, can be used to reflect upon many areas of education including a multicultural nursing education which is emerging in a rapidly changing society of Korea. In this regard, it is important to study Whitehead’s process philosophy and multicultural nursing education from a perspective of convergence. First, this article has examined the processive, organismic, relational, and dynamic cosmology of Alfred N. Whitehead, focusing on some key concepts and categories for understanding his metaphysical system. Whitehead understood the universe as the interplay of two fundamental components: actual entities and eternal objects. An actual entity also becomes subject to experience by a seizing and grasping process called "prehension," in which an initial subjective aim is offered by an eternal object. Whitehead completed his process metaphysics by explicating the concept of God with regard to his role and meaning in process cosmology. But his concept of God does not mean the God in the theistic tradition. Rather, it means creativity or creating activity which functions as a principle of formation and creation of all actual entities. Second, this article has explored how Whitehead’s process philosophy could provide a multicultural nursing education with a philosophical framework. This question is important because education is made impossible without proper philosophical base. As a result of a convergent study in this article, Whitehead’s process philosophy is well applied to a multicultural nursing education because of its processive, organismic, relational, and dynamic cosmology.
It is well known that Alfred N. Whitehead was one of the most important philosophical minds of the twentieth century. His special philosophic contribution lies in the comprehensiveness of his synthesis of the process point of view, and the exactness of his analysis of the relationship of the sciences and humanities. His philosophic vision continues to be applied in many areas of science, philosophy, and religion. Whitehead’s process philosophy provides a solid philosophical framework for a great diversity of human experience and belief. Above all, process philosophy, with its processive, organic, and relational cosmology, can be used to reflect upon many areas of education including a multicultural nursing education which is emerging in a rapidly changing society of Korea. In this regard, it is important to study Whitehead’s process philosophy and multicultural nursing education from a perspective of convergence. First, this article has examined the processive, organismic, relational, and dynamic cosmology of Alfred N. Whitehead, focusing on some key concepts and categories for understanding his metaphysical system. Whitehead understood the universe as the interplay of two fundamental components: actual entities and eternal objects. An actual entity also becomes subject to experience by a seizing and grasping process called "prehension," in which an initial subjective aim is offered by an eternal object. Whitehead completed his process metaphysics by explicating the concept of God with regard to his role and meaning in process cosmology. But his concept of God does not mean the God in the theistic tradition. Rather, it means creativity or creating activity which functions as a principle of formation and creation of all actual entities. Second, this article has explored how Whitehead’s process philosophy could provide a multicultural nursing education with a philosophical framework. This question is important because education is made impossible without proper philosophical base. As a result of a convergent study in this article, Whitehead’s process philosophy is well applied to a multicultural nursing education because of its processive, organismic, relational, and dynamic cosmology.
