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I
The Meaning of Civilization

THE MEANING OF CIVILIZATION

WITH characteristic honesty, Whitehead admits that the mean-
ing of civilization is obscure. However, he offers as a general
definition the suggestion that a civilized society is one which
exhibits the following qualities: truth, beauty, adventure, art, and
peace. 1 The fall meaning of these terms will be indicated later.
It is obvious, even at first glance, that in Whitehead's opinion
civilization is primarily concerned with values. Though he does
not mention goodness in the preceding list, he contends that it
is implicit in the other values.

Whitehead states that the values which characterize civiliza-
tion cannot be developed to the maximum degree unless the
rights of individuals are really respected. From this it follows
that a civilized society is characterized by tolerance. Persuasion
is recognized to be a more effective method of social control
than force. Obviously freedom of thought and action are basic
prerequisites. These freedoms depend on the acquisition of a
trained intelligence. Such an intelligence surveys the world with

____________________
1 See A. N. Whitehead, Adventures of Ideas ( New York: Macmillan, 1933),
p. 353. Hereafter this book will be referred to as A.I. (N.B. Page notation is the
same in the Cambridge University Press edition, 1933.)

-3-

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Publication Information: Book Title: Whitehead's American Essays in Social Philosophy. Contributors: A. H. Johnson - editor, Alfred North Whitehead - author. Publisher: Harper & Brothers. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1959. Page Number: 3.
    
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