Esoteric Metaphysics of the Quran.

The message behind the veils of the Quran is that of a universe emanating from a hidden source through stages of emanation, fragmentation, and finally rectification, culminating in the prophetic message of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the eternal Quran. The Perfected Human, as exemplified by the Prophet, serves as the primary agent of this cosmic rectification, harmonizing the divine sparks within the shattered cosmos and guiding all back to the Source. This metaphysical framework unfolds as a seven-fold cosmogony: from the Hidden Absolute (0) to Oneness (1), followed by the creative principles of the Pen (2) and the Light-Matrix (3). This leads to a cataclysmic Diad-Shatter (4), forming the Quadrate World (4) of manifestation. The cycle culminates in the Living Matrix (5) of rectification before returning to the Source through Annihilation and Return (6). Each stage is anchored in Quranic verses, revealing a monistic gnosis where perceived multiplicity is an illusion and all existence is governed by divine laws.¹ This framework shows deep parallels with other esoteric traditions—such as Lurianic Kabbalah (Ein Sof, Tzimtzum, Shevirat ha-Kelim)², Hermeticism (the One, Logos, Ouroboros)³, Gnosticism (Simon Magus's Great Declaration)⁴, and Plotinian monism⁵—which illuminate the Quran's role as a blueprint for cosmic architecture, unifying spiritual dynamics with the invariant laws of nature. Hence, the Quran is justly called the Mother of the Books.⁶

The Unmanifest Absolute and Oneness (Al-Batin and Al-Ahad)

The cycle originates from Al-Batin, the Hidden (Quran 57:3), an unknowable, absolute principle. This is the ultimate reality that cannot be grasped or defined, representing the primordial ground of all being and the Absolute Unknowable Source (Quran 6:103). This stage corresponds to the numerical archetype of 0, representing concealment and the point before extension. From this hiddenness emerges Al-Ahad, Absolute Oneness (Quran 112:1)—not a being among beings, but Being itself. It is an undifferentiated, unique, and indivisible singularity that transitions the archetype from 0 to 1. This concept of pure monotheism (Tawhid) is central to a monistic gnosis where all multiplicity is a reflection of the One. A hadith qudsi states: "I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known, so I created the creation that I might be known."⁷ This points to a movement from concealment (Batin) to manifestation. In Exodus 3:14, "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.'" This reveals a being whose essence is existence itself, beyond simple definition. In 1 Timothy 6:16, "[He] dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see." This similarly describes hiddenness in different languages. In Plato's Form of the Good, it is the ultimate reality, the source of all other Forms and of knowledge itself, yet it is "beyond being" in dignity and power.⁸ Aristotle's Unmoved Mover is the ultimate cause of all motion in the universe, a pure, simple, and eternal actuality.⁹ Islamic Philosopher Avicenna (Ibn Sina) defines God as the Wajib al-Wujud (Necessary Existent), a single, uncaused being whose essence is its existence, from which all contingent reality flows.¹⁰ In Indian Upanisads (Vedanta), Nirguna Brahman is the ultimate reality without attributes—transcendent, indescribable, and impersonal. It is the unmanifest ground of all being (Sat).¹¹ For Plotinus, the ultimate principle is "The One" (To Hen), which is beyond being, description, and knowledge—the source from which all reality emanates, resonates directly to Al-Ahad.⁵ In Kabbalah, Ein Sof ("Without End") is the unknowable, limitless divine essence analogous to Al-Batin, from which the ten Sefirot (emanations) emerge. Keter (the Crown) is the first manifestation, analogous to Al-Ahad.² The Hermetic text Poimandres describes a primal, dark, and boundless state (analogous to Al-Batin) before the emergence of the Luminous Word.³ In ceremonial magic tradition, The Monas Hieroglyphica by John Dee symbolizes the unity of all things.¹² Spinoza described God as the one infinite substance (Deus sive Natura), of which mind and matter are merely attributes. All multiplicity is a mode of this single substance.¹³ On the other hand, Kant's noumenon (the thing-in-itself) is unknowable reality, which we can never directly access, as distinct from the phenomenon (the world as it appears to us).¹⁴ Jung's latent pre-manifest archetype of the Self,¹⁵ and Freud's pre-ego "oceanic feeling" or boundless unity, both mirror similar ideas.¹⁶ The pre-Big Bang is a point of infinite density and temperature, beyond which the known laws of physics break down. It is a physical analog to an ungraspable origin point. The quantum vacuum or field is not empty but a plenum of potential particles, a ground of being from which existence flickers in and out. Before any measurements, the pure potentiality of the quantum fields is analogous to Al-Batin, and after first measurements, the One that can be recognized as a distinct entity, Al-Ahad, emerges.

The Primal Intellect and Creative Word (Al-Qalam)

From Unity emanates the first principle of consciousness: Al-Qalam, the Pen (Quran 68:1, 96:4-5). The Pen is not a physical object but the divine principle of knowledge and decree—the Universal Logos (Kalimat Allah) or First Intellect. It functions to inscribe the archetypes of all that was, is, and will be onto the Guarded Tablet (Quran 2:255). Its creative act is instantaneous, manifesting through the divine command Kun Fayakun—"Be, and it is" (Quran 2:117). In Genesis 1:3, "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." Creation occurs through mere divine utterance. John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," captures the primeval role of Logos (the Qalam) in the process of creation. In Simon Magus's gnostic ideas, he taught that the Infinite Power manifested as Ennoia (Thought) and Voice, a clear parallel to Intellect and Word.⁴ For Plotinus, the Nous (Intellect) is the first emanation from the One. It contains all the Platonic Forms, the archetypes of everything that exists. It is the realm of perfect knowledge.⁵ Al-Farabi and Avicenna both posit a "First Intellect" proceeding from the Necessary Existent. This Intellect contemplates its source, generating the Second Intellect and the first celestial sphere, echoing core gnostic ideas.¹⁰ In Vedic Thought, the concept of Vac (Speech) is seen as a divine, creative power. Sabda Brahman refers to the ultimate reality manifesting as cosmic sound or vibration (like the syllable Om).¹¹ Hegelian Geist (Mind/Spirit) is the rational principle that unfolds itself through the logic of history as viewed as the autobiography of God.¹⁷ In his process philosophy, for Whitehead, God provides the "initial aim" for every "actual occasion," functioning as a persuasive, not coercive, principle of order and novelty.¹⁸ John Archibald Wheeler's "It from Bit" hypothesis suggests that physical reality ("It") arises from information-theoretic principles ("Bit").¹⁹ The universe is fundamentally informational. DNA functions as a script or code (qalam) that "writes" the blueprint of an organism onto the "tablet" of cellular matter. Its numerical archetype is 2, symbolizing the binary of the writer and that which is written upon, as well as the potentiality embodied in God's name Al-Samad (the Eternal).

Cosmic Splitting or Shattering and the World of Duality (Nur and the Quadrates)

The Intellect projects a subtle, ethereal substance: Nur, the Light of the World (Quran 24:35). This Light, symbolized by olive oil that "would almost glow even if no fire touched it," serves as the underlying matrix for creation. This substance is akin to the Kabbalistic or Hermetic Aether, and its numerical archetype is 3, representing a radiant triad. To accommodate creation within this Light, a divine contraction (akin to the Kabbalistic Tzimtzum) is followed by a cataclysmic "Shattering of the Vessels" (Shevirat ha-Kelim), where the divine light overwhelms its containers, scattering holy sparks (nitzotzot) into material shells (klipot), producing duality.² This cosmic schism, which parallels Simon Magus's "part severed into two principles," is reflected in the Quranic separation of the heavens and the earth (Quran 21:30).⁴

This "Shattering" has two primary results:

1. Divine Sparks (Nur): Holy sparks of divine light are scattered and trapped in the lower realms. This divine spark is the Soul (Ruh), which is imprisoned within a material shell (Quran 17:85, 32:9).

2. Material Shards (Klipot): The broken vessel shards become the shells of material existence. These shells constitute both gross matter and the individuated ego (Nafs).

This new, dualistic cosmos operates under immutable Divine Laws and measure (Qadar) (Quran 54:49, 25:2), echoing the Hermetic principle of "As Above, So Below."³ The numerical archetype here is 4, symbolizing the stable, grid-like structure of the spatio-temporal world. This splitting or shattering is not unique in the Quran or Scriptures. In the Babylonian creation myth, the cosmos is formed by the god Marduk splitting the body of the primordial sea-goddess Tiamat in two.²⁰ In the Orphic myth, Dionysus was torn apart by the Titans. Humanity is created from the Titans' ashes, which contain both their own evil nature and the divine sparks of the consumed Dionysus.²¹ Indian Samkhyan philosophy describes Reality as a dualism of Purusa (pure consciousness, spirit) and Prakrti (matter, nature). Suffering arises when Purusa mistakenly identifies with the activities and forms of Prakrti.¹¹ The Empedoclean cosmos was governed by two forces: Love (which unifies) and Strife (which separates). The world as we know it exists in a state of partial strife and fragmentation.²² In Plato's Timaeus, the world-soul is created by the Demiurge, but its embodiment in the physical world leads to disorder and irrationality that must be overcome.²³ Al-Ghazali, in his Mishkat al-Anwar (The Niche of Lights), develops a sophisticated metaphysics based on the Light Verse, where hierarchies of light and veils explain the structure of reality and perception.²⁴ The splitting of the Freudian primal psyche brings into conscious (conscious Ego) and unconscious realms. The ego is formed as a shard of the id, broken off by contact with external reality.²⁵ In cosmology, the symmetry breaking in the early universe is the process by which fundamental forces and particles separated from a unified state, creating the complexity we see today. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that entropy (disorder, fragmentation) in an isolated system tends to increase.²⁶ The act of measurement "shatters" the wave function of multiple quantum possibilities into a single, definite reality.

Rectification and the Perfected Human (Al-Hayy al-Qayyum)

The purpose of this fragmented state is Rectification (Tikkun) and Reunification. This stage is embodied by the divine attribute Al-Hayy al-Qayyum, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining (Quran 2:255), which represents creation perfected—a living microcosm containing all cosmic forces. Within this living matrix, the divine soul (Ruh) provides tranquility (sakinah) (Quran 2:248) amidst the material world, the limited ego (Nafs), and entropic forces (Shaytan). Here, angelic vectors enforce divine law while subtle intelligences (Jinn) exercise free will. The primary agent of this cosmic healing is the Perfected Human—one who submits to and embodies the Divine Laws (a Muslim). Through spiritual struggle (jihad al-nafs), this individual elevates the trapped sparks of Ruh from the shells of matter and ego, thereby reversing the cosmic fragmentation. This is the path of annihilation in God (fana) and eternal subsistence through Him (baqa), as guided by Divine knowledge (Quran 18:65). This process is sustained by an everlasting reservoir of spiritual abundance, Al-Kawthar (Quran 108:1). The Trial and Tribulation of the Quran echoes the hero's journey (e.g., Odysseus, Hercules), a process of overcoming monstrous, chaotic forces (ego-passions) to restore order and reclaim one's kingdom (the perfected self). The purpose of humanity is Tikkun Olam ("repair of the world"), to gather the scattered sparks of holiness through righteous action and mystical intention, thus healing the cosmic rupture.² The Magnum Opus (Great Work) is the process of separating, purifying, and recombining the primordial elements (prima materia) to create the Philosopher's Stone, a symbol of the integrated, perfected, and immortal self. Its motto is Solve et Coagula (Dissolve and Coagulate).²⁷ Plato's philosopher's journey out of the cave (the Allegory of the Cave) is a form of rectification—turning the soul from the shadows of the material world towards the light of the eternal Forms.⁸ The path of Buddhism involves disciplined practices (sadhana) to purify the mind, dismantle the ego, and overcome karmic conditioning, leading to enlightenment (bodhi) or liberation (moksa). This is a process of reintegrating consciousness with its true nature. Jung's process of individuation, a lifelong journey of integrating the conscious ego with the unconscious, particularly the Shadow and the anima/animus, is to realize the Self.¹⁵ European Nietzsche's Übermensch (Overman) is the one who overcomes the nihilism of modern life ("God is dead") by creating his own values and affirming life in its totality, thus "rectifying" humanity's decadent state.²⁸ Sartre's existentialism posits that we are "condemned to be free" and must create our own essence through authentic choices and actions, struggling against the meaninglessness of existence.²⁹ In Biology, living organisms are negentropic systems that maintain and increase their internal order in defiance of the universe's general trend towards entropy.³⁰ Consciousness itself may be the highest form of this ordering process. The observer effect of the Quantum world can be interpreted as consciousness playing a role in "rectifying" the probabilistic quantum world into a single, classical reality.

The Return

This entire system reveals a universal pattern of emanation, fragmentation, and reintegration, mapping esoteric structures onto a Quranic framework. It illustrates the Quran as a metaphysical blueprint for the cosmos, where physical laws and spiritual dynamics are unified. Ultimately, this journey of rectification completes the cycle by returning all of creation to its Source, fulfilling the divine promise: "To Him we will return" (Quran 2:156, 2:285). In Plotinus, the soul, having descended from the One into matter, has an innate yearning to return (epistrophe) through philosophical contemplation, ultimately seeking ecstatic union (henosis) with its source.⁵ This is the same goal of Gnosis (knowledge) that allows the divine spark to escape the prison of the material cosmos and return to the Pleroma (the fullness of the Godhead).⁴ The final stage of the Alchemical Great Work often involves the creation of the "elixir of life" or the sublimation of the Philosopher's Stone, symbolizing a return to a perfected, incorruptible, primordial state.²⁷ The ultimate goal is of Moksa (liberation), in which the individual soul (atman) overcomes the illusion of separateness (maya) and realizes its fundamental identity with the Absolute (Brahman). This breaks the cycle of rebirth (samsara).¹¹ Hegel's history culminates in the Absolute Idea coming to full self-consciousness where the end is a return to the beginning, but with the journey's full development incorporated into it.¹⁷ The universe is evolving toward an "Omega Point," (Teilhard de Chardin) a future state of supreme consciousness and complexity where all individual consciousnesses will be united in a transcendent union.³¹ The "Big Crunch" is a hypothetical scenario where the universe's expansion reverses, collapsing all matter back into a singularity. Cyclical models ("Big Bounce") propose that this is not an end but the start of a new cosmos. As a fundamental principle that energy/mass cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed, the constituents of all beings "return" to the cosmic system from which they arose, echoing "Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we will return" (Quran 96:8).³² This perspective offers a trajectory for reconciling esoteric traditions with modern physics, viewing existence as a negentropic loop governed by divine information.

Alhamdulillah.

References

1. The Qur'an. A standard translation such as that by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (Oxford University Press, 2004) is used for all Quranic citations.

2. Scholem, Gershom. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. New York: Schocken Books, 1946. See especially lectures on Isaac Luria and his school.

3. Copenhaver, Brian P., trans. Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. See especially "Poimandres" (CH 1).

4. Jonas, Hans. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity. 2nd ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1963.

5. Plotinus. The Enneads. Translated by Stephen MacKenna. London: Penguin, 1991.

6. The Qur'an, 43:4 and 13:39.

7. Chittick, William C. The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination. Albany: SUNY Press, 1989. (This Hadith Qudsi is a central theme in Ibn 'Arabi's work and widely cited in Sufi metaphysics).

8. Plato. Republic. Translated by G. M. A. Grube, revised by C.D.C. Reeve. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1992. See Book VI, 508e-509b for the Form of the Good.

9. Aristotle. Metaphysics. Translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred. London: Penguin, 1998. See Book XII (Lambda).

10. Avicenna (Ibn Sina). The Metaphysics of The Healing. Translated by Michael E. Marmura. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2005.

11. Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli, trans. The Principal Upanisads. London: Allen & Unwin, 1953.

12. Dee, John. The Hieroglyphic Monad. Translated by J. W. Hamilton-Jones. London: Watkins, 1947.

13. Spinoza, Benedict de. Ethics. Edited and translated by Edwin Curley. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994. See Part 1, "Concerning God."

14. Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. Translated by Paul Guyer and Allen W. Wood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

15. Jung, C. G. Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self. Vol. 9, Part 2 of The Collected Works of C.G. Jung. Translated by R. F. C. Hull. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1959.

16. Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Translated by James Strachey. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1961.

17. Hegel, G. W. F. Phenomenology of Spirit. Translated by A. V. Miller. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977.

18. Whitehead, Alfred North. Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology. Corrected Edition, edited by David Ray Griffin and Donald W. Sherburne. New York: The Free Press, 1978.

19. Wheeler, John Archibald. "Information, Physics, Quantum: The Search for Links." In Complexity, Entropy, and the Physics of Information, edited by Wojciech H. Zurek, 3–28. Redwood City, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1990.

20. The Epic of Creation (Enuma Elish). In Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others, translated by Stephanie Dalley. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

21. Guthrie, W. K. C. Orpheus and Greek Religion: A Study of the Orphic Movement. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1952.

22. Kirk, G. S., J. E. Raven, and M. Schofield. The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. (Contains fragments and commentary on Empedocles).

23. Plato. Timaeus. Translated by Donald J. Zeyl. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000.

24. Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid. The Niche of Lights (Mishkāt al-Anwār). Translated by David Buchman. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1998.

25. Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. Translated by Joan Riviere, revised by James Strachey. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1960.

26. Boltzmann, Ludwig. "On the Relationship between the Second Fundamental Theorem of the Mechanical Theory of Heat and Probability Calculations Regarding the Conditions for Thermal Equilibrium." In Ludwig Boltzmann: His Later Life and Philosophy, 1900-1906, edited by John Blackmore, 55-66. Dordrecht: Springer, 1995.

27. Fabricius, Johannes. Alchemy: The Medieval Alchemists and Their Royal Art. London: Diamond Books, 1994.

28. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None. Translated by Walter Kaufmann. New York: Viking Penguin, 1966.

29. Sartre, Jean-Paul. Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology. Translated by Hazel E. Barnes. New York: Washington Square Press, 1956.

30. Schrödinger, Erwin. What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1944.

31. Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre. The Phenomenon of Man. Translated by Bernard Wall. New York: Harper & Row, 1959.

32. Clausius, Rudolf. "On the Moving Force of Heat, and the Laws regarding the Nature of Heat itself which are deducible therefrom." Annalen der Physik 79 (1850): 368–397, 500–524. (Foundational paper on the laws of thermodynamics, including conservation of energy).

Bibliography

Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid. The Niche of Lights (Mishkāt al-Anwār). Translated by David Buchman. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1998.

Aristotle. Metaphysics. Translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred. London: Penguin, 1998.

Avicenna (Ibn Sina). The Metaphysics of The Healing. Translated by Michael E. Marmura. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2005.

Boltzmann, Ludwig. "On the Relationship between the Second Fundamental Theorem of the Mechanical Theory of Heat and Probability Calculations Regarding the Conditions for Thermal Equilibrium." In Ludwig Boltzmann: His Later Life and Philosophy, 1900-1906, edited by John Blackmore, 55-66. Dordrecht: Springer, 1995.

Chittick, William C. The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination. Albany: SUNY Press, 1989.

Clausius, Rudolf. "On the Moving Force of Heat, and the Laws regarding the Nature of Heat itself which are deducible therefrom." Annalen der Physik 79 (1850): 368–97, 500–524.

Copenhaver, Brian P., trans. Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Dee, John. The Hieroglyphic Monad. Translated by J. W. Hamilton-Jones. London: Watkins, 1947.

The Epic of Creation (Enuma Elish). In Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others, translated by Stephanie Dalley. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Fabricius, Johannes. Alchemy: The Medieval Alchemists and Their Royal Art. London: Diamond Books, 1994.

Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Translated by James Strachey. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1961.

Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. Translated by Joan Riviere, revised by James Strachey. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1960.

Guthrie, W. K. C. Orpheus and Greek Religion: A Study of the Orphic Movement. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1952.

Hegel, G. W. F. Phenomenology of Spirit. Translated by A. V. Miller. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977.

Jonas, Hans. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity. 2nd ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1963.

Jung, C. G. Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self. Vol. 9, Part 2 of The Collected Works of C.G. Jung. Translated by R. F. C. Hull. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1959.

Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. Translated by Paul Guyer and Allen W. Wood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Kirk, G. S., J. E. Raven, and M. Schofield. The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None. Translated by Walter Kaufmann. New York: Viking Penguin, 1966.

Plato. Republic. Translated by G. M. A. Grube, revised by C.D.C. Reeve. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1992.

Plato. Timaeus. Translated by Donald J. Zeyl. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000.

Plotinus. The Enneads. Translated by Stephen MacKenna. London: Penguin, 1991.

The Qur'an. Translated by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli, trans. The Principal Upanisads. London: Allen & Unwin, 1953.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology. Translated by Hazel E. Barnes. New York: Washington Square Press, 1956.

Scholem, Gershom. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. New York: Schocken Books, 1946.

Schrödinger, Erwin. What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1944.

Spinoza, Benedict de. Ethics. Edited and translated by Edwin Curley. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre. The Phenomenon of Man. Translated by Bernard Wall. New York: Harper & Row, 1959.

Wheeler, John Archibald. "Information, Physics, Quantum: The Search for Links." In Complexity, Entropy, and the Physics of Information, edited by Wojciech H. Zurek, 3–28. Redwood City, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1990.

Whitehead, Alfred North. Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology. Corrected Edition, edited by David Ray Griffin and Donald W. Sherburne. New York: The Free Press, 1978.