For Whitehead, truth is grounded in experience and consists in a correspondence between propositions and the actual world, but in a way that is richer and more processual than in traditional correspondence theories.

1. Truth as Correspondence within Experience

Whitehead accepts a correspondence theory of truth but modifies it through his process-relational metaphysics. In Process and Reality, he argues that a proposition is true when it corresponds to some state of affairs in the actual world. However, unlike classical correspondence theories that assume static facts, Whitehead sees the world as a process, a dynamic becoming. Thus, truth is not about matching static entities to static representations but about a proposition resonating with or finding realization in the flux of actual occasions.

2. Truth and Propositions as Lures for Feeling

For Whitehead, propositions are not mere abstract representations; they function as lures for feeling. They shape how actual entities (especially human minds) feel and interpret the world. A true proposition is one that, when entertained, finds realization in experience—meaning that it is capable of being felt as conforming to the world’s becoming.

3. The Role of Eternal Objects

Truth is also connected to eternal objects, which are like Platonic forms but function as pure potentials that actual entities can realize in their becoming. A proposition’s truth depends on whether the eternal objects it invokes are realized in actual occasions.

4. The Evolutionary and Temporal Nature of Truth

Because reality is always in process, truth is not fixed; rather, it unfolds in time. This means that:

• Some truths emerge as the world develops.
• New configurations of truth arise as actual entities prehend the world differently.
• Some truths cease to be realized as the world changes.

5. The Relational Nature of Truth

Whitehead rejects the idea that truth is something independent and self-contained. Instead, it is relational, arising within the interweaving of actual occasions, eternal objects, and subjective experience.

Summary

For Whitehead, truth is grounded in the process of actual occasions coming into being and consists in a correspondence between propositions and the evolving reality, mediated by eternal objects and the way propositions function as lures for feeling. Truth is dynamic, relational, and realized within experience rather than merely asserted in abstraction.

GPT