Q0273
“The many become one, and are increased by one.” — Alfred North Whitehead (Process and Reality)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Process and Reality. Theme: community.
English
The many become one, and are increased by one.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Process and Reality and files it under Process Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) was an English mathematician-philosopher who co-authored Principia Mathematica with Russell, then developed process metaphysics at Harvard. Science and the Modern World and Process and Reality rethink nature as events, not inert stuff.
Interpretation
Whitehead's slogan describes how a new entity comes to be out of what already exists. Each occasion takes up the many prior occasions and unifies them into one, which then becomes part of the many for what follows. The claim reverses the usual priority: substances are not more fundamental than processes, but are what processes produce. The second half — "increased by one" — insists that the unification adds something rather than merely summing.
Why it matters
It is a way of thinking about continuity and novelty together: what comes next is made of what came before, and is nevertheless genuinely new.
Concepts in this quote
- Community
- Community appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat community as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Alfred North Whitehead. (n.d.). The many become one, and are increased by one. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0273
MLA: Alfred North Whitehead. “The many become one, and are increased by….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0273.
Chicago: Alfred North Whitehead. “The many become one, and are increased by….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0273.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “The many become one, and are increased by…”?
The passage is attributed to Alfred North Whitehead, Process and Reality. The archive attributes this English wording to Process and Reality and files it under Process Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Alfred North Whitehead mean by community?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Aristotle and Kwasi Wiredu), community is framed through Africana Philosophy and Peripatetic School. Some passages define community; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through community.