Introduction to Becoming

I first heard about the concept of Becoming during my Intro to Greek Philosophy class nearly two years ago. Becoming was provided in contrast to the concept of Being, which has largely pervaded Western culture for the last 2500 years. Two of the famous Pre-Socratic Greek philosophers represented these two separate ideas- Parmenides supporting Being and Heraclitus supporting Becoming.

Parmenides' view of Being posited that everything is static; a single, permanent, unchanging, fundamental reality. Being was later favored by Socrates, followed by Plato and then Aristotle, and by way of Aristotle it was disseminated throughout the ages. The concept of Being has been pondered, debated, challenged, and reaffirmed in its various forms by scientists, philosophers, linguists, and religious thinkers alike. Ultimately, Being is the most common Western (and for a substantial portion, Eastern) view of reality. For example, the statement "The world IS" is a statement of the world as a being or thing, as are the statements "I AM," "The chair IS," and so on.

Heraclitus held the completely opposite philosophical view, Becoming, or what is more modernly referred to as Process Philosophy. As Heraclitus saw it, everything in the universe was in an indeterminate state of flux - always changing - and that this change was inevitable and the only real constant. While Being saw reality as a series of objects and substances, goals and destinations, Becoming saw reality as dynamic, impermanent, chaotic, and ceaseless.

Becoming weaved its way throughout the next two millenia within the Western intellectual canon, in direct parallel with Being, always in the shadows. It eventually became a favored philosophy of such figures as Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, William James, Henri Bergson, John Dewey, and Alfred North Whitehead. Throughout each of these philosophers' respective bodies of work, many of them refer back to Heraclitus as their primary influence for this idea, especially Nietzsche.

Over the last two years, having come across this philosophy again and again in the various academic courses I've taken, or books that I've delved into, I've been made aware of my own process of Becoming. To ask the question "Becoming WHAT?" is to miss the point, and simply exposes our cultural, psychological, possibly even religious marriage to the concept of Being. Nietzsche built upon Heraclitus's assertion of Becoming, saying that we should view this inherent change throughout our lives, not as a difficulty to struggle against, or something that has set out to weaken us, but something we should embrace and use as a means to become more powerful individuals. Each subsequent change is therefore not a detriment, but is rather a meaningful progression of who we are.

So here I will recount for you, in several installments, what has become my great philosophical, scientific, and spiritual journey of the last two years. What started out as a few simple questions of how to better explain my day-to-day human experiences in more meaningful terms, quickly snowballed into a series of profound encounters, all of which have completely changed the way that I look at the world and my life.

Welcome to Becoming. I hope you enjoy!

Comments

[Nik]

Process theology must have a similar background to process philosophy. The Eastern Church also stresses becoming, one of the reasons I prefer it. I look forward to reading more about Becoming and what it means to you.

Niki

[Adam]

Looking forward to walking this journey with you.