Symbols

Symbols are ways that we see the entities in the world. There are two ways that we perceive these symbols. We perceive them as they appear, this mode called immediate presentation by Whitehead,  in this case a multicolored brown adult sized chair shape with four legs and a multi-piece back, made from something that looks like wood.

The other way is as having experience or a history. This chair has a chair-ness, the result of history of experiments that lead to this present form. It also contains the history of all furniture, manufacture, material (in this case wood, glue, screws and finish [which each has its own history]), and all other contributions to its present appearance and function. Whitehead calls this the mode of causal efficacy. We see it for the experience it brings, the history it exemplifies.

The obvious way we perceive, and what seems to have the most value, is by means of immediate presentation.  We see a pen and say it is a pen. It is this shape, made of this material, is this color, weighs this much, feels this way and so on. We sense it and use our senses to define it. It's history seems to be of less value.

Whitehead suggests that we have it backwards. The greatest value that it brings into the present moment is its history or experience. Its current form is superficial. Why do we believe the opposite? It is easy to define an object by its characteristics as we sense them. We can see it here and now but cannot see its experience. Its function comes from its history and that is most important to us if we are to interact with it. Its value comes from the investment of experience.

Symbols, therefore, carry the power of their experience (which includes all the experience of the constituent elements) into the present iteration as a form of immediate presentation. This appearance is perceived in both modes, immediate presentation and causal efficacy with causal efficacy having the far greater value.