Bergson: Thinking Beyond the Human Condition

Description

A thought-provoking contribution to the renaissance of interest in Bergson, this study brings him to a new generation of readers. Ansell-Pearson contends that there is a Bergsonian revolution, an upheaval in philosophy comparable in significance to those that we are more familiar with, from Kant to Nietzsche and Heidegger, that make up our intellectual modernity. The focus of the text is on Bergson's conception of philosophy as the discipline that seeks to 'think beyond the human condition'. Not that we are caught up in an existential predicament when the appeal is made to think beyond the human condition; rather that restricting philosophy to the human condition fails to appreciate the extent to which we are not simply creatures of habit and automatism, but also organisms involved in a creative evolution of becoming. Ansell-Pearson introduces the work of Bergson and core aspects of his innovative modes of thinking; examines his interest in Epicureanism; explores his interest in the self and in time and memory; presents Bergson on ethics and on religion, and illuminates Bergson on the art of life.

Keith Ansell-Pearson holds a Personal Chair in Philosophy at the University of Warwick, UK.

Ansell-Pearson remains one of the most important Bergson scholars writing in English. * The Review of Metaphysics * Ansell-Pearson (Univ. of Warwick, UK) has written the best introduction to Henri Bergson (1859-1941) now on the market ... Ansell-Pearson touches on most of Bergson's major works and clearly articulates the most crucial Bergsonian concepts. Interest in Bergson is suddenly on the rise, and this volume, which is both spirited and rigorous, will more than meet the needs of newcomers to Bergson's corpus. But the book is much more than an introduction. It will offer clarity and support to those already immersed in Bergsonian philosophy. In sum, this book demonstrates that Bergson readily addresses 21st-century questions about the human condition. Readers of all stripes will appreciate this volume because it speaks to concerns about freedom and self; time and memory; politics, ethics, and religion; the nature of science and philosophy; and, ultimately, how to live well. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. * CHOICE * 'The fruits of Keith Ansell-Pearson's years of labour to bring Bergson the philosophical attention he deserves reaches an apogee in this book. And the results are brilliant.' * Times Higher Education Supplement * Ansell-Pearson's book is unquestionably a remarkable introduction to a large swath of Bergson's work and an invaluable contribution to the ongoing resurgence of interest in Bergson ... [A] fresh and lively reading of Bergson's thought and provides us with a significant number of scholarly engagements with Bergson's influences, concepts, and potential further contributions. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * Keith Ansell-Pearson claims that Henri Bergson's thought marks an upheaval in philosophy of equal magnitude to Kant, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. I can't think of a better author or book to make the case. -- Alexandre Lefebvre, Department of Government and International Relations and the Department of Philosophy, University of Sydney, Australia Yet another great book from one of our most important scholars on Bergson (and Nietzsche, and Deleuze). There is no question that Ansell-Pearson succeeds in introducing Bergson more thoroughly to the Anglophone world, illuminating all of the most central areas of Bergson's thinking. Of particular note are the final two chapters on ethics and religion in Bergson, areas usually left unexplored by Bergson scholars. Bergson: Thinking beyond the Human Condition is one of the best, if not the best, studies of Bergson. -- Leonard Lawlor, Sparks Professor of Philosophy, Penn State University, USA In his synthetic overview of the work of Henri Bergson Keith Ansell-Pearson explores how "we as human beings can think beyond our own condition." This is an urgent question in the age of the Anthropocene and Ansell-Pearson is right to think Bergson can help us answer it. His book demonstrates, with great clarity, the importance of Bergson's work to the present day. It will prove indispensable not only to teachers and students and but to anyone who wants to see our contemporary world in a new light. -- Suzanne Guerlac, Professor of French, UC Berkeley, USA This is an excellent book. Ansell-Pearson's years of sustained, quality engagement with Bergson enable him to show us Bergson as he was: an impassioned, clear philosopher steeped in the history of philosophy, many of its central 'problems' - freedom and determinism, body and soul, brain and mind, habit and attention, self and selfhood, the sources of morality and potential for progress - and the value of thinking those problems for human life. Ansell-Pearson's presentation of Bergson's response to these classical philosophical problems effectively tracks Bergson's careful engagement with both the sciences and philosophy of his day. This informed, clear, and compelling study of the spirit and content of Bergson's philosophy and view of philosophy will generate for analytical and continental philosophers alike new ways of thinking about central issues in their fields. -- Michael R. Kelly, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of San Diego, USA