Scientist of the day - Alfred North Whitehead

Alfred North Whitehead was a British Mathematician who is known for his tremendous contributions in algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education. Although Whitehead was a scientist whose areas of expertise were maths and physics, yet his outlook towards these subjects were philosophical than purely scientific. Whitehead was born in Britain but lived a considerable part of his life in the United States of America serving as a teacher of Philosophy at Harvard and engage himself in a wide range of humanitarian acts. Whitehead is also famous for co-authoring the historical “Principia Mathematica” with Bertrand Russell. Bertrand Russell and Willard Van Orman Quine had carried on with their doctoral dissertations under Whitehead’s supervision. Whitehead introduced logic and analytic philosophy in a brand new way. Whitehead taught physics, the philosophy of science, and the theory and practice of education at University College London and Imperial College London. 

Alfred North Whitehead Childhood & Early Years

Alfred North Whitehead was born on 15 February 1869 in Ramsgate, Kent, England in an affluent family where his father and uncles were vicars. Whitehead’s family was dedicated entirely to the Church of England. His grandfather was an influential man who had founded Chatham House Academy but as a kid, Whitehead was sent to another very posh publish school, Sherborne School, Dorset in South England. Whitehead got a reserved childhood at home but in school he was known to be good in sports, and mathematics. Whitehead was bright and popular in school as he was the head prefect of his class.

Whitehead completed his matriculation from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1880. He received his BA in 1884. In 1884, Whitehead was chosen as the fellow of Trinity College and he started teaching and writing on mathematics till 1910.

Career

Whitehead spent the whole of 1890s writing his mathematical book, ‘Treatise on Universal Algebra’ which was published in 1898. He spent the whole of 1900 with his student Bertrand Russell in coming out with the first edition of ‘Principia Mathematica’ which was published in 1910, 1912, and 1913. ‘Principia Mathematica’ was a three volume work on the foundation of mathematics whose second edition was brought out in 1927.

Personal Life

Whitehead married Evelyn Wade, an Irish woman brought up in France, in 1890. Together the couple had three children, one daughter and two sons.  He lost one of his sons while the latter served in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. Alfred North Whitehead resigned from his position in Trinity College in 1914 in protest of the dismissal of a colleague because of an adulterous affair.

Interests

Whitehead had remained interested in theology throughout his life (because of his catholic background) which resulted in his keenness to get inclined towards Roman Catholicism. It was before the World War I began that he started calling himself agnostic. Much later in his life Whitehead came back to religious beliefs.

Whitehead was pursuing his fellowship when he was deeply influenced by physics. His dissertation examined James Clerk Maxwell's views on electricity and magnetism thus making him a physics enthusiast.

Whitehead had been a guiding light in the field of mathematics and physics but his approach had remained extremely philosophical than scientific. He delved into the varied scope and nature of the subjects than into the deep clusters of tenets and theories. Such was his varied interest that he had been the President of the ‘Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy’ from 1922 to 1923.

Contributions

Whitehead was a teacher and a notable writer of physics, the philosophy of science, and the theory and practice of education at University College London and Imperial College London from 1910 and 1926. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society since 1903 and had been elected to the British Academy in 1931.

Whitehead had formulated a rival doctrine to Einstein's general relativity. He worked on this area to come out with his more significant work, ‘Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Natural Knowledge’ (1919) which was an exemplary attempt to synthetize the philosophical underpinnings of physics. Although the work has not changed the path of modern day physics but it has been considered a great approach by Whitehead.

He addressed the Mathematical Association of England with his ‘’ The Aims of Education’ in 1916 and brought out the book with the same name in 1929. In this book and in his address Whitehead discussed and greatly criticised the existing teachers in Great Britain who neither cared for their culture nor for the students’ self-education. In his popular speech Whitehead had said, “Culture is activity of thought, and receptiveness to beauty and humane feeling. Scraps of information have nothing to do with it”.

In 1924 Whitehead was invited by Henry Osborn Taylor to dictate and share his ideas and also teach philosophy at Harvard University. As the subject was a soft point in Whitehead’s life he rightly accepted the offer living and spending the rest of his life in the United States.  

Ideas

Whitehead was a pioneer in mathematics and philosophy. He started viewing the world differently after the shocking collapse of Newtonian physics which took place mostly due to Albert Einstein's work. Whitehead started out on his metaphysical views in the 1920s by bringing out ‘The Concept of Nature’. He further expanded his ideas in his 1925 ‘Science and the Modern World’ which brilliantly assesses the history of ideas and the role of science and mathematics in the rise of Western civilization. In 1927 Whitehead was invited to lecture on the Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh which were later published in 1929 as Process and Reality upholding process philosophy that till today remains a major contribution in Western metaphysics.

Works

A Treatise on Universal Algebra with Applications - 1898

An Introduction to Mathematics - 1911

The Organization of Thought Educational and Scientific - 1917

The Principle of Relativity with Applications to Physical Science - 1922

Principia Mathematica (with Bertrand Russell) - 1925

Science and the Modern World - 1925

An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Natural Knowledge - 1925

Religion in the Making - 1926

Symbolism, Its Meaning and Effect - 1927

Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology - 1929

The Aims of Education and Other Essays - 1929

Adventures of Ideas - 1933

Nature and Life - 1934

Modes of Thought - 1938

Essays in Science and Philosophy - 1947

The Wit and Wisdom of Whitehead - 1947

Death

Alfred North Whitehead died 30 December 1947.

Sarojini Naidu Birth Anniversary

Sarojini Naidu, also known as Sarojini Chattopadhyaya, was a famous Indian poet and a major freedom fighter who went on becoming the first Indian woman to be appointed the president of the Indian National Congress and the Governor of any state in India. Most of all, she was a noted child prodigy and a master of the children's literature. Naidu was given a sobriquet Bharat Kokila (The Nightingale of India) on account of her beautiful poems and songs. Some of her best books that established her as a potent writer include The Golden Threshold, The Gift of India, and The Broken Wing. An active participant of the Indian Independence movement, Naidu joined the national movement taking Gandhi's call and joined him in the popular Salt March to Dandi. With the Indian Independence in 1947, Sarojini Naidu was made the Governor of the Uttar Pradesh in the wake of her contribution to the movement.

Childhood & Family

Sarojini Naidu was born on 13 February 1879 in Hyderabad, India to the scientist, philosopher and a politieducator Aghornath Chattopadhyaya and Barada Sundari Devi. She was the eldest daughter of her parents. A political activist, her father was a co founder of the Nizam College and the first member of the India National Congress in Hyderabad. Chattopadhyaya was removed from his position as a penalty for his active participation in Indian Independence movement.

Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Sarojini's brother, was a political activist who played a key role in establishing the Berlin Committee and was influenced by Communism. He was allegedly killed by the Russian troops in 1937. Sarojini's second brother Harindranath Chattopadhyaya was a noted poet and playwright.  

Education, Marriage & Children

A brilliant student, Sarojini won appreciation and fame by being selected in Madras University at just 12. In 1895, she went on to study at King's College in London and later at Girton College, Cambridge University. She developed a liking and passion for reading and writing poems whilst still in college where she became proficient in many languages including Urdu, English, Persian, Telugu and Bengali. 

Whilst still in college, Sarojini met Dr. Muthyala Govindarajulu Naidu and both grew closer by the end of her college. Upon finishing her studied at age 19, she married him in 1898 during a period when inter-caste were marriages were rare and considered a crime in the Indian society. Nonetheless, the successful marriage of the couple prevented people from intervening into their personal life and taking it onto another stage.

The couple had four children; Jayasurya, Padmaja, Randheer and Leelamani. Her daughter Padmaja followed in to her footprints and became the Governor of West Bengal. In 1961, she published a collection of poems entitled The Feather of The Dawn. 

Indian Independence Movement

Sarojini Naidu had many credits to her, including a notable contribution to the Indian Independence Movement. She joined the movement at the rear of Bengal partition in 1905 and since then, she stuck to her commitment to the cause. While working for the Indian National Congress, she was introduced to many eminent personalities such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi with whom she shared a special bond and a very good rapport.

During 1915-1918, she traveled across the India lecturing on social welfare, women empowerment, emancipation and nationalism. Inspired by Jawaharlal Nehru, she embarked on providing help and support for the indigo workers in Champaran who were being subjected to violence and oppression. In 1925, Naidu was appointed the President of the National Congress thus making her the first Indian women to hold the post. 

With the introduction of the Rowlett Act in 1919, Sarojini joined the Non-Cooperation Movement organized and led by Mahatma Gandhi. In the same year, she was appointed the Home Rule League's ambassador to England. In 1924, she became a delegate to the East African Indian Congress.

Sarojini Naidu as poet  

The Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu was a prolific writer and poet. The first volume of her poetries The Golden Threshold was published in 1905, after which two more collections The Bird of Time and The Broken Wing arrived in 1912 and 1917 respectively. Meanwhile in 1916, she authored and published a biography of Muhammad Ali Jinnah entitled as The Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity. Other acclaimed poems that came following are The Wizard Mask and A Treasury of Poems. Other selected works written by her include The Magic Tree and The Gift of India. She was given the name Bharat Kokila on account of the beautiful and rhythmic words of her poems that could be sung as well.

Later Life & Death

In her last years, Sarojini actively participated in the freedom movement and was a part of the Round Table summit held in 1931. In 1942, she was arrested along with Mahatma Gandhi for her involvement in the Quit India movement and was jailed for almost 2 years. After her release from the jail, she presided over the Steering Committee at the Asian Relations Conference. With the independence of India in 1947, Sarojini Naidu was made the Governor of the Uttar Pradesh in the wake of her contribution to the movement. She was the first woman to become the governor of a state. She died of a heart attack while working in her office on 2 March 1949.