Bergson: Thinking Backwards PDF
Preview Bergson: Thinking Backwards
This is a book about the philosophy of Henri Bergson (1859- 1941) which shows how relevant Bergson is to much contem- porary philosophy. It does not pretend to be a comprehensive scholarly account. Rather it deals with selected features of his thought and reveals how his approach solves certain key philosophical problems. The book takes as its point of departure Bergson's insis- tence on precision in philosophy. It then discusses a variety of topics including knowledge and representation, laughter, the nature of time as experienced, how intelligence and language should be construed as a pragmatic product of evolution, and the antinomies of reason represented by magic and religion. This is not just another exposition of Bergson's work. It helps us to understand why Bergson commanded massive in- ternational interest in his own day, not only in the academic world, but much more widely, and it shows why he deserves to be read now. Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 138.37.211.113 on Tue Oct 14 05:27:09 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014 Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 138.37.211.113 on Tue Oct 14 05:27:09 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014 BERGSON Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 138.37.211.113 on Tue Oct 14 05:27:09 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014 MODERN EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHY General Editor Robert B. Pippin, University of Chicago Advisory Board Gary Gutting, University of Notre Dame Rolf-Peter Horstmann, University of Munich Mark Sacks, University of Essex This series seeks to publish a range of high-quality books on philoso- phers, topics and schools of thought prominent in the Kantian and post-Kantian European tradition. The series is non-sectarian in ap- proach and methodology, and includes both introductory and more specialised treatments of these thinkers and topics. Authors are en- couraged to interpret the boundaries of the modern European tradi- tion in a broad way and to engage with it in primarily philosophical rather than historical terms. Some recent titles Frederick A. Olafson: What is a Human Being? Stanley Rosen: The Mask of Enlightenment: Nietzsche's Zarathustra Robert C. Scharff: Comte After Positivism Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 138.37.211.113 on Tue Oct 14 05:27:09 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014 BERGSON THINKING BACKWARDS F. C. T. MOORE University of Hong Kong CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 138.37.211.113 on Tue Oct 14 05:27:09 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014 Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 IRP 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia © Cambridge University Press 1996 First published 1996 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Moore, F. C. T. (Francis Charles Timothy) Bergson : thinking backwards / F.C.T. Moore. p. cm. — (Modern European philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 0-521-41340-0. - ISBN 0-521-42402-x (pbk.) 1. Bergson, Henri, 1859-1941. I. Title. II. Series. B2430.B43M65 1996 i94~dc2O 95-22210 CIP A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0-521-41340-0 Hardback ISBN 0-521-42402-X Paperback Transferred to digital printing 2004 Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 138.37.211.113 on Tue Oct 14 05:27:09 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014 For Leila, Mariam and Sarah Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 138.37.211.113 on Tue Oct 14 05:27:09 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014 Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 138.37.211.113 on Tue Oct 14 05:27:09 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014 CONTENTS Abbreviations page ix Preface xi Introduction 1 A. Bergson's Philosophical Itinerary 1 B. Motivations 12 1. The Requirement of Precision 14 2. Philosophy and Knowledge: Uses and Misuses of 'Representation' 18 A. Pure Perception 18 B. Embodied Perception 32 C. Recognition and Memory 34 D. Two Forms of Knowledge 39 E. Holistic Views of Knowledge and Experience 41 F. Intensive Magnitudes 43 3. Durance: Unfolding in Time 54 4. Laughter 66 5. Tension 91 6. Aporetic Philosophy 97 A. Sorites 98 B. The Weakness of the Will 100 C. Buridan'sAss 103 vii Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 130.102.42.98 on Tue Oct 14 05:14:21 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014 Viii CONTENTS 7. Branching 105 8. Going Beyond 115 9. Magic and the Primitive: The Antinomies of Pure Intelligence 123 10. Paradoxical Epilogue: Reason Ruefully Repressed 140 Works Cited 142 Index of Names 147 Index of Subj ects 149 Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 130.102.42.98 on Tue Oct 14 05:14:21 BST 2014. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139172509 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2014
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