- Bergson, Henri
- (1859-1941)philosopherBorn in Paris, Bergson was professor at the CoLlège de france from 1900 to 1914. As a thinker, he left an abundance of philosophical writings, including Essai sur les données immédiates de la conscience (1889), Matière et mémoire (1896), Le Rire (1900), L'Évolution créatrice (1907), L'Énergie spirituelle (1919), Durée et simultanéité (1922), Les Deux Sources de la moral et de la religion (1932), and La Pensée et le mouvant (1934). Hostile to formalistic intellectualism, and in particular to Kant and neo-Kantianism, as well as to scientific and materialistic positivism, Bergson developed his thought through a critical analysis of the scientific method. He presented, in contrast, theories on the freedom of the mind and on duration, which he regarded as the succession of unconscious states, intermingling and unmeasured. Bergson defined the mind as pure energy—the élan vital—responsible for all organic evolution. Although often associated with the intuitionalist school of philosophy, Bergsonism is too original and eclectic to be so categorized. Nonetheless, Bergson did emphasize the importance of intuition over intellect and the idea of two opposing currents: inert matter in conflict with organic life as the vital urge strives toward free creative activity. The influence of Bergson's lectures and writings on 20th-century philosophers, writers, and artists is extensive and includes charles péguy, marcel proust, and others. Bergson was elected to the Académie Française in 1914 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1927.
France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present . 1884.