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Henri Bergson (1859-1941) is widely regarded as one of the most original and important philosophers of the twentieth century. His work explored a rich panoply of subjects, including time, memory, free will and humour and we owe the popular term élan vital to a fundamental insight of Bergson's. His books provoked responses from some of the leading thinkers and philosophers of his time, including Albert Einstein, William James and Bertrand Russell, and he is acknowledged as a fundamental influence on Marcel Proust.
The Bergsonian Mind is an outstanding, wide-ranging volume covering the major aspects of Bergson's thought, from his early influences to his continued relevance and legacy. Thirty-six chapters by an international team of leading Bergson scholars are divided into five clear parts:
- Sources and Scene
- Mind and World
- Ethics and Politics
- Reception
- Bergson and Contemporary Thought.
In these sections fundamental topics are examined, including time, freedom and determinism, memory, perception, evolutionary theory, pragmatism and art. Bergson's impact beyond philosophy is also explored in chapters on Bergson and spiritualism, physics, biology, cinema and post-colonial thought.
An indispensable resource for anyone in Philosophy studying and researching Bergson's work,
The Bergsonian Mind will also interest those in related disciplines, such as Literature, Religion, Sociology and French Studies.
List of contents
Introduction Mark Sinclair and Yaron Wolf Part 1: Sources and Scene 1. The Roots of Bergson's Concept of Duration Reconsidered Mark Sinclair 2. Bergson vs Herbert Spencer: Real Becoming and False Evolutionism Heike Delitz 3. Bergson at the Collège de France Céline Surprenant Part 2: Mind and World 4. Duration: A Fluid Concept Susanne Guerlac 5. Bergson on the Immediate Experience of Time Yaron Wolf 6. The Perception of Change and Self-Knowledge: Bergson and Kant Yaron Senderowicz 7. On Freedom: Bergson after Kant Matt Barnard 8. Character and Personality: From a Privileged Image of Durée to the Core of a New Metaphysics Donald Landes 9. Subject and Person in Bergson Camille Riquier 10. Attention to Life and Psychopathology John Ó Maoilearca 11. Bergson on the Emotions Keith Ansell-Pearson 12. Bergson's Social Philosophy of Laughter Stephen Crocker 13. The Naive Realism of Henri Bergson Robert Watt 14. Bergson and Metaphysical Empiricism Stéphane Madelrieux 15. The Psychological Interpretation of Life Tano Posteraro 16. Bergson on Virtuality and Possibility Tatsuya Murayama 17. Bergsonian Metaphysics: Virtuality, Possibility, and Creativity Adrian Moore 18. Reflections on the Notion of System in Creative Evolution Arnaud François 19. Infinite Divisibility vs. Absolute Indivisibility: What Separates Einstein and Bergson Yuval Dolev Part 3: Ethics and Politics 20. Closed and Open Societies Alexandre Lefebvre and Nils Schott 21. Bergson on Emotion and Ethical Mobilization Arnaud Bouaniche 22. Bergson and Sociobiology Melanie White 23. The Phantom Presence of War in Bergson's Two Sources Melanie Weill Part 4: Reception 24. Bergson and William James Jeremy Dunham 25. Bergson and German Philosophy Caterina Zanfi 26. The Vital Impulse and Early 20th-Century Biology Emily Herring 27. From Time to Temporality: Heidegger's Critique of Bergson Heath Massey 28. Russell Reading Bergson Andreas Vrahimis 29. The Concept of Substitution in Bergson and Levinas Miguel Paley 30. The Way of the Africans: Césaire, Senghor and Bergson's Philosophy Souleymane Bachir Diagne Part 5: Bergson and Contemporary Thought 31. Irreducibility, Indivisibility, and Interpenetration Barry Dainton 32. A Bergsonian Response to McTaggart's Paradox Matyás Moravec 33. Bergson and Process Philosophy of Biology Anne Sophie Meincke 34. Bergson as Visionary in Evolutionary Biology Mathilde Tahar 35. 'Living Pictures': Bergson, Cinema, and Film Philosophy Dave Deamer 36. Anti-intellectualism: Bergson and Contemporary Encounters Matt Dougherty. Index
About the author
Mark Sinclair is Reader in Philosophy at the University of Roehampton, London, UK. He is the author of
Bergson (2020) in the
Routledge Philosophers series.
Yaron Wolf is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University College Roosevelt, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
Summary
An indispensable resource for anyone in Philosophy studying and researching Bergson’s work, The Bergsonian Mind will also interest those in related disciplines such as Literature, Religion, Sociology and French studies.
Report
'The Bergsonian Mind is accessible to those recently encountering Bergson's philosophy, and it is a reserve of nuanced research for Bergson scholars. This much-needed collection will reward those interested in philosophy, political theory, the history of physical sciences, sociology, and aesthetics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.' - CHOICE
