The Influence of Alfred North Whitehead on Eric Voegelin

The aim of this article consists in pointing out pertinent features of Alfred North Whitehead’s speculative thought inherited and expanded upon by Eric Voegelin. I will follow Voegelin’s declarations before introducing my own theoretical proposals. In particular, I will focus on three concepts proposed by Whitehead that resonate in Voegelin’s thought, namely those of “climate of opinion,” “fallacy of misplaced concreteness,” and “process” (considered in its relation to that of “symbol”). By highlighting the intellectual continuity between these two thinkers (while not obscuring their crucial differences), I will reflect upon their place within the historical trajectory of ideas.