Space in Leibniz and Whitehead

Abstract

One noteworthy feature of modern relativity physics is the shift it involves away from a Newtonian conception of space and time as fixed and independent axes toward what might be called a “Leibnizean” reduction of space and time to a subjective, phenomenal status. Whitehead’s philosophy of actual entities in process is deliberately intended to be in tune with the results of recent scientific research, and it is not surprising to find this shift reflected in the analysis Whitehead gives of space, or, as he calls it, the “extensive continuum.”