Henri Bergson
contemporaryFrench Spiritualism, Vitalism, Process Philosophy1859 – 1941
Henri Bergson (1859–1941) was a French philosopher whose work centered on time, consciousness, and life, challenging the mechanistic and deterministic assumptions of 19th-century science. He argued that lived experience of time—what he called durée (duration)—cannot be captured by scientific measurement or spatial representation, and that intuition, not analysis, is the proper method for grasping reality. His influence extended across philosophy, literature, and psychology, earning him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927.
Notable Achievements
1
Developed the concept of durée (pure duration) as the direct experience of time irreducible to spatial or quantitative analysis
2
Introduced élan vital (vital impulse) as an explanation for creative evolution, challenging Darwinian mechanism
3
Argued for intuition as a superior philosophical method over intellect for accessing living reality
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Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (1927) for the literary quality and philosophical depth of his writing
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Influenced William James, Alfred North Whitehead, Gilles Deleuze, and the broader tradition of process thought