Bergson, Complexity and Creative Emergence

247 Pages·2015·1.814 MB·English

by  David Kreps (auth.)

Bergson, Complexity and Creative Emergence
Bergson, Complexity and
Creative Emergence
David Kreps
© David Kreps 2015
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First published 2015 by
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ISBN 978-1-349-55429-4 ISBN 978-1-137-41220-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137412201
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country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kreps, David, 1963–
Bergson, complexity, and creative emergence / David Kreps, Salford
University, UK.
pages cm
1. Bergson, Henri, 1859–1941. 2. Evolution (Biology) I. Title.
B2430.B43K74 2015
194—dc23 2015013405
Contents
List of Illustrations v iii
Abbreviations of Bergson’s Works ix
1 Introduction 1
On Bergson’s life 3
On Bergson’s legacy 7
On creative emergence 10
2 Bergson’s Core Ideas 16
On method 16
On the i ntuition philosophique 1 8
On rationality 19
On intuition 22
On Durée Réelle 25
On the intensity of conscious states 2 6
On number 30
On the paradoxes of the Eleatics 3 0
On sheep, abstract number and space 3 1
On memory and perception 34
On realism and idealism 36
On perception, memory and action 3 9
On indivisibility and movement 46
On the É lan Vital 50
Definition of terms 50
On Creative Evolution 56
A universe on the model of consciousness 6 7
3 Bergson Redux 85
Eclipse 85
The 1960s 88
On Deleuze 89
On the poststructuralist turn 9 2
On the linguistic turn 93
On structuralism 95
v
vi Contents
On poststructuralism 96
On Bergsonian poststructuralism 98
Contemporary resurgence 100
4 Systems Theory Grows Up 110
On Genealogy 11 1
Concerning metaphilosophy and root metaphors 1 13
Considering the discursive formations of ecosystems
and systems theory 115
Positivity 118
Epistemologisation 130
Scientificity 137
Scientific revolution 143
5 Durée Compl e xe 151
On durée 155
On Relativity, and its challengers from the cosmic
and the microscopic 160
On the speed of light, and Einstein’s great debate
with Bergson 162
On Bergson and quantum theory 1 65
On consciousness, durational succession,
and epiphenomenalism 171
On complexity 178
On second-wave cybernetics 179
On dissipative structures, and emergence 1 81
On the notion of attractors 183
On organisms and nonequilibrium 185
On nonequilibrium thermodynamics 1 88
On autocatalysis and phase transitions 1 90
On attractors in dynamic networks 1 92
On self-organisation 195
On bifurcation points, deconstruction, and the
shortest description 196
On explosive emergence and the élan vital 2 00
On ecological complexity 202
6 Creative Emergence 211
Bergson’s core message and legacy 2 11
Bergsonian complex evolutionism 213
Poststructuralist complexity 214
Contents vii
Bergsonian poststructuralist complex evolutionism 2 15
Our place in this universe 2 16
So what of the future? 2 26
Glossary 234
Index 235
List of Illustrations
Figures
2.1 A diagram from Matter and Memory 45
5.1 A Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction 189
Tables
2.1 Two sides of one coin 29
2.2 Two sides of one coin (ii) 49
2.3 Life 7 3
viii
Abbreviations of Bergson’s Works
Bergson’s works are referred to in the references by their abbreviations,
as set out below, and page numbers refer to the editions listed below:
TFW Bergson, H. (2005[1889]) T ime and Free Will. Adamant Media
Elibron Classics reproduction of 1913 edition, trans. F.L. Pogson,
New York: George Allen and Unwin
MM B ergson, H. (2004[1896]) M atter and Memory, trans. Nancy
Margeret Paul and W. Scott Palmer 1912. London: Dover
IM B ergson, H. (1946[1903]) ‘An Introduction to Metaphysics’ (Essay
in R evue de Métaphysique et de Morale January 1903) in The Creative
Mind, trans. Mabelle L. Andison, New York: Philosophical Library
CE B ergson, H. (1944[1907]) C reative Evolution, trans. Arthur Mitchell,
with a Foreword by Irwin Edman. New York: Random House
Modern Library
ME B ergson, H. (1975[1920]) M ind–Energy, trans. H. Wildon Carr,
Westport CT: Greenwood Press
DS B ergson, H. (1965[1922]) D uration and Simultaneity. Reproduction
of 1929 4t h edition, trans. Leon Jacobson, New York: Bobbs-
Merrill Company
TSMR B ergson, H. (2006[1935]) T he Two Sources of Morality and Religion.
Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press
CM B ergson, H. (1946) T he Creative Mind, trans. Mabelle L. Andison,
New York: Philosophical Library

ix
1
Introduction
This is a book about evolution.
It may seem that the arguments about what evolution i s have all been
played out – over a hundred years ago – and that Darwin’s version of
events is today challenged only by the religiously devout. But the truth
is that Darwin’s version of events is itself challenged by the orthodox
neo-Darwinism popularised by such figures as Dawkins, and that not
only is there a long tradition of other ideas about evolution, there is
today a very strong case to suggest that Darwin’s was only part of the
story – and not even the most important part at that.
This is a book about two alternatives to orthodox Darwinism that turn
out to be both closely related and mutually reinforcing – and which
both uphold Darwin’s version of events as a secondary force. One
derives from late 19th/early 20th century French philosophy; the other
from contemporary complex evolutionary biology. I set out in this book
to describe both these alternatives in terms understandable by as wide a
range of scholars as I am able: both to inform those aware of philosophy
concerning the developments in environmental biology; and, perhaps
more importantly, vice versa. In the process I will also need to tell the
history of our understanding and use of the term ‘system’: it turns out
that this is crucial to how we understand evolution.
The philosopher who is the focus of our attention is Henri Bergson
(1859–1941). Bergson’s ideas are enjoying something of a revival in
various circles. He has, in the past, had many critics; and there remain –
in this author’s eyes, at least – some elements of his work that have
not stood the test of time (for example, elements of the second part
of his last work, Two Sources of Morality and Religion), and some argu-
ments that remain very controversial, (such as over the relativity of time
and space in D uration and Simultaneity) . Nonetheless, there have been
1