A general definition of civilization: a civilized society is exhibiting the fine qualities of truth, beauty, adventure, art, peace.

- Alfred North Whitehead

Algebra is the intellectual instrument which has been created for rendering clear the quantitative aspects of the world.

- Alfred North Whitehead

Algebra reverses the relative importance of the factors in ordinary language. It is essentially a written language, and it endeavors to exemplify in its written structures the patterns which it is its purpose to convey. The pattern of the marks on paper is a particular instance of the pattern to be conveyed to thought. The algebraic method is our best approach to the expression of necessity, by reason of its reduction of accident to the ghostlike character of the real variable.

- Alfred North Whitehead

An enormous part of our mature experience cannot not be expressed in words.

- Alfred North Whitehead

Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.

- Alfred North Whitehead

But in the prevalent discussion of classes, there are illegitimate transitions to the notions of a 'nexus' and of a 'proposition'. The appeal to a class to perform the services of a proper entity is exactly analogous to an appeal to an imaginary terrier to kill a real rat.

- Alfred North Whitehead

By relieving the brain of all unnecessary work, a good notation sets it free to concentrate on more advanced problems, and, in effect, increases the mental power of the race.

- Alfred North Whitehead

Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations that we can perform without thinking about them.

- Alfred North Whitehead

Disputing the commonsense notion that all events require the prior existence of some underlying matter or substance. There is no antecedent static cabinet.

- Alfred North Whitehead

Education with inert ideas is not only useless; it is above all things harmful.

- Alfred North Whitehead