Foundations in Flux: Process Metaphysics and Its Scientific Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Process metaphysics is a philosophical tradition that has gained renewed significance in light of contemporary scientific developments. In opposition to static, substance-based conceptions of reality, process philosophy proposes understanding the world as fundamentally dynamic, emphasizing the processual nature of time, change, and causation. This perspective has become increasingly relevant as modern sciences have shifted toward dynamic, relational, and thereby processual foundations. The understanding of fields (Seibt, 2002), living systems (Koutroufinis, 2017), emergence (Campbell, 2015), and action (Stout, 2018) increasingly suggests the need to move beyond the limitations of traditional static categories and mechanistic explanations.

The apparent convergence between process philosophy and contemporary scientific frameworks is not coincidental. From its modern inception, process philosophy has aimed to provide both a foundation for scientific developments and to integrate these developments with everyday experience. As Seibt (2022) notes, “Process philosophy centers on ontology and metaphysics, but it has full systematic scope.” This systematic scope aligns with Philosophies' commitment to exploring fundamental questions across disciplinary boundaries.

From today's perspective, we aim to explore how process-oriented thinking can illuminate our understanding of scientific phenomena while simultaneously examining how scientific developments might inform process metaphysics. This Special Issue, entitled “Foundations in Flux: Process Metaphysics and Its Scientific Applications”, emerges from a workshop to be held in 2025 in Turin. It aims to assemble recent research concerning the metaphysical implications of process-based approaches to scientific understanding.

We welcome original contributions that examine how process frameworks can illuminate key scientific concepts and, conversely, how scientific discoveries might inform process metaphysics. Suggested themes (though articles beyond these are also welcome) include:

• The reinterpretation of fundamental physical entities in terms of processes;
• The understanding of central biological systems and organisms in light of process philosophy;
• The dynamic nature of time and its relationship to process metaphysics;
• Processual approaches to biological individuality;
• The nature of dynamicity;
• Theoretical foundations of process metaphysics and their relevance to scientific inquiry;
• Critical examinations of substance-based versus process-based ontologies;
• Process approaches to causation and scientific explanation;
• The relationship between process metaphysics and scientific realism;
• Process-based approaches to emergence and complexity.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Maximilian Zachrau
Prof. Dr. Cord Friebe
Guest Editors

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• process philosophy
• dynamicity
• scientific metaphysics
• biological organization
• fundamentality
• philosophy of time