Interpreting Bergson: Critical Essays

Description

Bergson was a pre-eminent European philosopher of the early twentieth century and his work covers all major branches of philosophy. This volume of essays is the first collection in twenty years in English to address the whole of Bergson's philosophy, including his metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science, philosophy of life, aesthetics, ethics, social and political thought, and religion. The essays explore Bergson's influence on a number of different fields, and also extend his thought to pressing issues of our time, including philosophy as a way of life, inclusion and exclusion in politics, ecology, the philosophy of race and discrimination, and religion and its enduring appeal. The volume will be valuable for all who are interested in this important thinker and his continuing relevance.

Alexandre Lefebvre is Associate Professor of Government and International Relations, and Philosophy at the University of Sydney. He is author of Human Rights and the Care of the Self (2018), Human Rights as a Way of Life: On Bergson's Political Philosophy (2013), and The Image of Law: Deleuze, Bergson, Spinoza (2008). He is co-editor of The Subject of Human Rights (forthcoming), Henri Bergson (2015, with Nils F. Schott), and Bergson, Politics, and Religion (2012). Nils F. Schott is Lecturer at the College universitaire de SciencesPo. He is co-editor of Henri Bergson (2015, with Alexandre Lefebvre) and Love and Forgiveness for a More Just World (2015). He is translator of a dozen volumes in philosophy and related fields.

'This collection presents new and promising interpretations of Henri Bergson, revealing the reach of his thought into political science, sociology, aesthetics, and religious studies. Academic readers across the humanities and social sciences will find them accessible and provocative.' Michael Kelly, University of San Diego 'In its choice of the most innovative topics in research on Bergson, this book presents an original and at the same time very rich spectrum of the last twenty years of research ... Even though they draw on the most canonical texts, the various contributions present highly original interpretations of Bergson's oeuvre and highlight its enduring fertility.' Societe des Amis de Bergson Newsletter 'This collection is extremely thought-provoking and an excellent resource for scholars as well as students already familiar with his work.' Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 'Critical Essays is an extraordinary contribution to scholarship on Bergson and the history of philosophy and science.' John R. Bagby, Metascience