Henri Bergson

The Spenglerian vision of “civilization” as the final stage of a culture did not stop Toynbee23 from taking civilization as the unit of research. In fact, in the introduction to his Study of History Toynbee discusses the problem of the minimum historical unit, discarding “national history” as isolated and unreal because history in fact corresponds to multiple entities that embrace a more extended region. What is important to him above all is the comparative study of civilizations, a concept that we often find replaced by that of “society.” Of greatest interest (for our purposes) is Toynbee’s interpretation of the historical process. No longer is the subject of history a biological being marked by destiny, but rather an entity that, between the open and the closed, is guided by impulses or circumspection in facing obstacles.

We must also take note of Toynbee’s explanation of social movement as involving challenge and response. He does not, however, use the term “impulse” in a strictly Bergsonian sense, nor is his use of the idea of challenge-response a simple transplanting of stimulus-response or Pavlovian reflex. Finally, what is of most interest to us is his understanding that the great religions transcend the disintegration of civilizations, and that they are what allows us to have the intuition of a “plan” and a “purpose” in history. In any event, the accommodation of his model to a particular historical form kept him from an understanding of temporality.

In: Historiological Discussions, Silo

Chapter 2: The Past Seen as Without Temporal Foundation 2.2 History as Form

Henri Bergson (1859 - 1941)

Philosopher.

Biographical information

1859 Birth on 18 October in Paris
1878 Studied literature and philosophy at the École normale supérieure in Paris
1889 Publication of the dissertation Essai sur les données immédiates de la conscience (Time and Freedom), an early major work on the philosophy of consciousness
1900 Professor at the Collège de France, important essay Le Rire (Laughing), theory of the comic
1907 Publication of L'Évolution créatrice (Creative Evolution), a work on the theory of evolution and intuition that made Bergson famous.
1921 Founding member and first president of the Commission Internationale de la coopération Intellectuelle, a forerunner of UNESCO.
1927 Nobel Prize in Literature
1932 Last major work Les deux sources de la morale et de la religion (The Two Sources of Morality and Religion, 1933).
1940 Despite his growing attachment to the Catholic faith, he ostentatiously renounced all his honours, titles and memberships and registered himself as a Jew when Marshal Philippe Pétain's Vichy regime began legally discriminating against them.

1941 Died in Paris on 4 January

Topics

Time and duration: Bergson developed a new concept of time that differs from traditional concepts. He emphasised the importance of experienced duration (durée) as opposed to measurable, spatially imagined time.
Intuition and consciousness: Bergson contrasted intuition with analytical reason as a method of knowledge and examined the inner life of consciousness.
Philosophy of life and élan vital: As a representative of the philosophy of life, Bergson developed the concept of élan vital (vital force or momentum) as the driving force of evolution and life.
Criticism of determinism: Bergson argued in favour of human freedom and against strict determinism.
Evolution and creativity: In his work ‘Creative Evolution’, he combined evolutionary theory with his philosophy of life and creativity.
Relationship between mind and matter: In particular, in ‘Matter and Memory’ he examined the relationship between body and mind.
Scientific criticism: Bergson criticised the mechanistic world view of the natural sciences and dealt with Einstein's theory of relativity.

Major works

‘Time and Freedom’ (1889)
‘Matter and Memory’ (1896)
‘Creative Development’ (1907)
‘Mental Energy’ (1919)
‘The Two Sources of Morality and Religion’ (1932)

Influence

Bergson revolutionised the philosophical understanding of time by placing experienced duration (durée) at the centre and turning away from the traditional view of time as a measurable, spatial quantity.

His critique of the mechanistic world view and his emphasis on intuition as a method of knowledge significantly influenced the philosophy of life and paved the way for existentialism.

Bergson's concept of élan vital (vital force) shaped the discussion of evolution and creativity in philosophy and beyond.

His work on the relationship between mind and matter, particularly in ‘Matter and Memory’, had a lasting influence on the philosophy of mind.

Bergson's examination of Einstein's theory of relativity contributed to a critical discussion of the relationship between philosophy and the natural sciences.

His ideas influenced not only philosophy, but also 20th-century literature, art and psychology, which is reflected, among other things, in the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928.

The lasting relevance of Bergson's thinking is evident in current new editions and translations of his major works, as well as in the ongoing academic debate on his theories.

Why is he mentioned by Silo in ‘Historiological Discussions’?

Silo speaks of the ‘impulse’ that Toynbee does not consider in the ‘strict Bergsonian sense’. With this, he could be referring to the perspective of Bergson, who identifies a vital impulse (élan vital) in man that drives his entire development. He expounded this view in his 1908 work ‘L'évolution créatrice’ (Creative Evolution):

’...And this crystallisation itself is what clarifies everything else: the great avenues become visible, along which, as it strides, life develops its original impulse. Of course, one will not witness the fulfilment of a single plan in this way. More and better is here than a plan that realises itself. For a plan is the ultimate goal prescribed for a work: it concludes the future, the form of which it outlines. In contrast, before the development of life, the gates of the future remain wide open. It is creation, which, by virtue of an original movement, follows itself and follows itself without end..."

’...Philosophy would have achieved its goal if this intuition could assert itself, generalise, and above all, secure external markers to avoid going astray. For this, however, a constant to and fro between nature and spirit is necessary. When we immerse our being in our will, and our will in the impulse that it continues, we understand, we feel that reality is unceasing growth; creation that follows itself without end..."

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