Renowned for his groundbreaking theories on time, intuition, and the nature of reality Henri Bergson is a famous French philosopher who lived in late 19th to early 20th century France. He is recognized as having made an enormous impact in several fields including but not limited to philosophy, psychology, and literature (Wilson). One thing unique about Bergson was that he treated things from his angle, much different from other philosophers who approached their subjects mechanically and deterministically.
Early Life and Education
Henri Bergson was born October 18, 1859, in Paris, France to Polish Jewish immigrants: his father’s work as an eminent commercial lawyer entrenched within him a deep-rooted intellectualism and fiery quest for information. During his earlier days at school, the curriculum mainly concentrated on classical studies enabling him obtain proficient knowledge on Greek and Latin languages through this training.
Upon completion of secondary education, Bergson joined Ecole Normale Supérieure which was the highest institution of learning in France. Here, he studied philosophy under leading scholars like Jules Lachelier and Émile Boutroux. This experience was beneficial for him because it helped refine his approach towards philosophy while at the same time enhancing critical thinking capabilities.
Early Career And Academic Pursuits
After leaving Ecole Normale Supérieure, Bergson blossomed into the accomplished academician that we now know him to be. While teaching at several French universities including University of Paris where eventually he retired back, it was within this period when this great thinker began crystallizing various aspects that eventually found their way into significant works.
In his earlier works, Bergson looked at issues such as memory, consciousness, and time. He thought that traditional philosophical methods based on mechanical conceptions or logical reasoning could not explain human experience in its full complexity. Instead, according to him, intuition is important than intellect in terms of understanding reality.
Key Philosophical Concepts
His idea concerning time is one of the most relevant phrases by this wise man. Opposite to common sense philosophical perception that usually sees time as a sequence of moments, Bergson argued that time is an ever flowing constant creative force. He differentiated between chronological time measured by clocks and calendars, and psychological time based on human experiences with duration as their foundation. Unarguably, his time theory has had a great impact on psychology, literature and arts.
The other principal concept in Bergson’s philosophy is intuition. According to him, intuition is direct and immediate knowledge that does not depend on limitations set by intellectual analysis. In other words, it allows grasping true meaning of existence for those things which by rational thought cannot be completely understood. This wise thinker believed that to understand creative and developmental aspects characterizing universe, one should use intuition.
Bergson’s Influence and Legacy
Henri Bergson’s philosophical views had great influence on many thinkers and disciplines . His ideas have been taken up or criticized by philosophers, psychologists, literary critics and even scientists . Bergson’s emphasis on intuition and the importance of subjective experience is particularly strong in existentialism, phenomenology and process philosophy.
Apart from his academic work, Bergson also took part in social life. A member of the French Academy, he got the Nobel Prize in Literature back in 1927. Henri Bergson’s intellectual accomplishments and his dedication to philosophical inquiry have made him one of the most significant thinkers of the twentieth century.
