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Graham Harman & Matthew David Segall: OOO vs. Process Philosophy

Feb 7, 2026

Matthew David Segall, a process philosopher focused on Whiteheadian thought and consciousness studies, and Graham Harman, a founding figure of object-oriented ontology known for metaphysics of objects, debate metaphysics. They discuss Whitehead versus Kant, flat ontology and object-relation tensions, discreteness versus continuity, concrescence and withdrawal, and the scope of pan-experiential views.

01:28:56

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insights

INSIGHT

Whitehead's Move Beyond Kant

Whitehead rejects Kant's privileging of human cognition and generalizes relation beyond human access via prehension.
Graham Harman values Whitehead as a metaphilosopher who frees thought from starting-point deduction.

insights

INSIGHT

Prehension Generalizes Relation

Whitehead treats human cognition as one form among many by introducing 'prehension' as generalized relation.
Matthew Segall says this makes cognition a special case, not the metaphysical anchor.

insights

INSIGHT

Philosophy Beyond Deduction And Clarity

Harman defends a broad, non-technical sense of philosophy as love of wisdom against narrow scientific methods.
He values vagueness, rhetoric, and multiple ways of knowing beyond deductive clarity.

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Whitehead's Influence on Harman

03:40 • 3min

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Whitehead vs Analytic and Continental Traditions

06:23 • 7min

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Whitehead's Critique of Kant

13:46 • 4min

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Kant, Introspection, and the Thing-in-Itself

17:22 • 4min

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Latour, Science, and Metaphysics

21:40 • 2min

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Privacy, Occasionalism, and Endurance

23:40 • 2min

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Harman's Impact on Segall

25:16 • 6min

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Analytic vs Continental: Classics and Methods

31:10 • 10min

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Flat Ontology Explained

40:57 • 5min

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From Flat Ontology to Object-Relation Debate

46:13 • 53sec

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Whitehead, Bergson, and Discreteness

47:06 • 3min

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Segall on Concrescence and Privacy

50:34 • 3min

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Aristotle, Continuity, and the Discrete

53:38 • 8min

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Whitehead vs Bergson: Can Intellect Be Reformed?

01:01:34 • 4min

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Substances, Actual Entities, and Endurance

01:05:24 • 8min

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Panpsychism and Pan-Experientialism

01:13:05 • 6min

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Animals, Consciousness, and Big Jumps

01:18:47 • 4min

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Teaser: Waves and Stones

01:23:11 • 4min

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Writing Habits and Productivity

Introduction to Triple O

Graham Harman

#4768

• Mentioned in 10 episodes

Process and Reality

Alfred North Whitehead

#18373

• Mentioned in 3 episodes

Naming and Necessity

Saul Kripke

In 'Naming and Necessity,' Saul Kripke critiques the descriptivist theory of names, which posits that names are shorthand for descriptions. Instead, Kripke argues that names are rigid designators, referring to the same object across all possible worlds through a causal chain of usage. He discusses the implications of this theory on concepts such as necessity, identity, and the nature of natural kind terms. The book, based on three lectures given at Princeton University in 1970, has had a profound influence on the philosophy of language and analytic philosophy, introducing ideas such as necessary a posteriori truths and the distinction between epistemic and metaphysical necessity.

#3345

• Mentioned in 14 episodes

Creative evolution

Henri Bergson

#82393

Guerrilla Metaphysics

Phenomenology and the Carpentry of Things

Graham Harman

#13134

• Mentioned in 4 episodes

Waves and Stones

Graham Harman

In Waves and Stones, Graham Harman explores the paradoxical relationship between continuous and discrete realities, arguing that this tension permeates every aspect of human life. He delves into the historical roots of this paradox, tracing its presence from ancient Greek philosophers to contemporary physics. Harman examines various fields, including evolutionary theory, architecture, and the interplay between religion and science, to illustrate the continuous and discrete elements. He proposes a new perspective on this age-old problem, providing fresh insights into our understanding of ourselves and the complex world around us. Waves and Stones ultimately challenges readers to reconsider the fundamental nature of reality and the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate domains.

#1090

• Mentioned in 35 episodes

Principia mathematica

Alfred North Whitehead

Bertrand Russell

#74942

The Physicist and the Philosopher

Einstein, Bergson, and the Debate That Changed Our Understanding of Time

Jimena Canales

This book tells the story of the explosive debate between Albert Einstein and Henri Bergson on April 6, 1922, in Paris, which transformed our understanding of time and drove a rift between science and the humanities. Canales explores how this debate reverberated across the twentieth century, influencing figures such as Bertrand Russell and Martin Heidegger, and impacting various philosophical and scientific movements including American pragmatism, logical positivism, phenomenology, and quantum mechanics. The book also discusses how new technologies of the period shaped people's conceptions of time and further polarized the public debate.

Prof Graham Harman is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles. His upcoming book, to be released in Feb 2026, is Waves and Stones: On the Ultimate Nature of Reality.

You can find more of Prof Harman's work at https://www.sciarc.edu/people/faculty/graham-harman and https://pact.egs.edu/biography/graham-harman/

a/Prof Matthew David Segall is a transdisciplinary researcher, writer, and philosopher applying process-relational thought across the natural and social sciences, as well as in the study of consciousness. He is the Associate Professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and the Director of the Process and Science Network at the Centre for Process Studies.

You can find more of a/Prof Segall's work at https://footnotes2plato.com/mds/

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