Living Consciousness: The Metaphysical Vision of Henri Bergson

384 Pages·2011·3.629 MB·English

by  Bergson, Henri, Bergson, Henri, Barnard, George William

RELIGIOUS STUDIES / PSYCHOLOGY / PHILOSOPHY B
Living Consciousness
A
R
N
Living Consciousness examines the brilliant, but now largely ignored,
A
insights of French philosopher Henri Bergson (1859–1941). Present- R The Metaphysical Vision of Henri Bergson
ing a detailed and accessible analysis of Bergson’s thought, G. William D
Barnard highlights how Bergson’s understanding of the nature of
consciousness and, in particular, its relationship to the physical
world remain strikingly relevant to numerous contemporary fields. L
These range from quantum physics and process thought to philosophy
i
of mind, depth psychology, transpersonal theory, and religious studies.
v
Bergson’s notion of consciousness as a ceaselessly dynamic, inher-
i
ently temporal substance of reality itself provides a vision that can
n
function as a persuasive alternative to mechanistic and reductionistic
understandings of consciousness and reality. Throughout the work, g
Barnard offers “ruminations” or neo-Bergsonian responses to a series

of vitally important questions such as: What does it mean to live C
consciously, authentically, and attuned to our inner depths? Is there a
philosophically sophisticated way to claim that the survival of con- o
sciousness after physical death is not only possible but likely?
n
s
c
G. William Barnard is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at i
o
Southern Methodist University. He is the author of Exploring Unseen
Worlds: William James and the Philosophy of Mysticism, also published
u
by SUNY Press, and coeditor (with Jeffrey J. Kripal) of Crossing
s
Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism.
n
e
A volume in the SUNY series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology
s
Richard D. Mann, editor
s
P R E S S
State University of New York Press
www.sunypress.edu
G. WILLIAM BARNARD

Living Consciousness
SUNY SERIES IN TRANSPERSONAL AND HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY
Richard D. Mann, editor
L I V I N G
C O N S C I O U S N E S S
The Metaphysical Vision of Henri Bergson
G. William Barnard
COVERART:innerspiralofNagasakiPrayerwheelbyJohnLyonPaul(johnlyonpaul.com)
PublishedbyStateUniversityofNewYorkPress,Albany
©2011StateUniversityofNewYork
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Nopartofthisbookmaybeusedorreproducedinanymannerwhatsoever
withoutwrittenpermission.Nopartofthisbookmaybestoredinaretrievalsystem
ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeansincludingelectronic,electrostatic,
magnetictape,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise
withoutthepriorpermissioninwritingofthepublisher.
Forinformation,contactStateUniversityofNewYorkPress,Albany,NY
www.sunypress.edu
ProductionbyDianeGaneles
MarketingbyAnneM.Valentine
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Barnard,G.William(GeorgeWilliam)
Livingconsciousness:themetaphysicalvisionofHenriBergson/G.
WilliamBarnard.
p.cm.— (SUNYseriesintranspersonalandhumanistic
psychology)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4384-3957-0(hardcover:alk.paper)
1.Bergson,Henri,1859–1941. 2.Metaphysics. 3.Consciousness.
4.Philosophy,Modern. I.Title.
B2430.B43B262011
194—dc22
2011007662
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS x
ABBREVIATIONS xiii
A BRIEF BIO-HISTORICAL PREAMBLE xv
INTRODUCTION xxiii
Section One:
Explorations of Consciousness,
Authenticity, Time, and Freedom
CHAPTER 1.THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 3
QuestioningandExperiencingConsciousness 3
EnduringDurée 6
StrugglingwithImmediacy 7
CarvingUptheWorld 10
An“Object”-tiveUnderstandingofOurselves 12
LanguageandDurée 13
TheParadoxofDurée 14
CHAPTER 2.AUTHENTICITY 18
TheSuperficialSelfandtheDeepSelf 18
Rumination:AuthenticSelfhood 21
CHAPTER 3.TIME 28
DuréeasTime 28
Rumination:ConsciousnessasTime 30
CHAPTER 4.QUANTITYAND QUALITY 33
DoOurFeelingsMeasureUp? 33
v
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER 5.DETERMINISM 38
PhysicalDeterminism 38
AHistoricalInterlude:Predeterminism 40
PsychologicalDeterminism 44
CHAPTER 6:ALTERNATIVE UNDERSTANDINGS OFTHE SELF 46
AssociationistIdeasoftheSelf 46
ASubstantiallyFlowingSelf 47
CHAPTER 7:FREEDOM 51
Durée:Ever-New 51
ArguingforFreeWill 54
Freedom:AnImmediateFact 57
ALittleHard-CoreCommonSense 59
DegreesofFreedom 62
Liminal Section:
The Dynamism of Matter
CHAPTER 8:THEWORLD“OUTTHERE” 71
PlayingwiththeSpaceIn-Between 71
SplittingUptheWorld 72
CHAPTER 9:MOVEMENT 73
MotionasaWhole 73
MovingfromOnePointtoAnother 74
CatchingUpwithZeno 76
CHAPTER 10:ANATOMISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF REALITY 78
UnchangingAtomsorUniversalFlux? 78
Mini-Rumination:PorousBodies 79
CHAPTER 11:GOING BEYOND CLASSICAL PHYSICS 82
BeyondMechanism 82
ContraAtomism 83
BergsonSaidItFirst 84
CHAPTER 12:MELODIES OFTHE SELFANDTHEWORLD 88
MatterasMelody 88
AFlowingIdentity 92
Rumination:The“Both/And”PerspectiveofBergson 95
CONTENTS vii
Section Two:
The Matter of Consciousness and the
Consciousness of Matter
CHAPTER 13:CONTEMPORARY UNDERSTANDINGS OF CONSCIOUSNESS 105
RememberingMatterandMemory 105
BecomingConsciousofConsciousness 106
TheoriesofConsciousness:Dualism 107
TheoriesofConsciousness:Epiphenomenalism 108
TheoriesofConsciousness:Materialism 109
AProblemforMaterialism:TheUnityofConsciousness 111
AnEvolutionaryProblem:WhenDidConsciousnessArise? 113
ContemporaryTheorists—Various“Camps” 116
OneSolutiontothe“HardProblem”:Panpsychism 117
WhyIsPanpsychismSoOftenDismissedorIgnored? 118
CHAPTER 14:IMAGES OFTHE UNIVERSE 121
MakingConsciousnessMatter 121
MaterialImages 123
AConsciousUniverse 123
TheCreationofPerceptions 125
Rumination:OpeningOurselvestotheWhole 126
CHAPTER 15:NONLOCALITYAND BERGSON’S UNIVERSE OF IMAGES 130
Bell’sTheoremandNonlocality 130
NonlocalityandtheWorkofDavidBohm 133
CHAPTER 16:PERCEPTIONSANDTHE BRAIN 137
PurePerceptions 137
PerceptionsandthePhysicalBody 138
RelationshipsbetweentheBrainandConsciousness 140
UnderstandingtheRelationshipbetweentheBrainandConsciousness 141
TheBrain’sRoleinPurePerception 142
CHAPTER 17:THE INTERACTION OF PERCEPTIONAND MEMORY 145
PurePerceptionsand“Primal”Memory 145
PurePerceptionsandTwoBasicFormsofMemory 146
Rumination:Cappadocia,Turkey,2004 148
CHAPTER 18:MOVING FROM PERCEPTIONTO MEMORY 151
TheDifferencesbetweenMemoryandPerception 151
TwoTypesofMemories 152
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER 19:THE INTERWEAVING OF RECOLLECTION MEMORY
AND HABIT MEMORY 155
TheConeofMemoryandthePlaneofPerception 155
PlanesofConsciousness 156
CompletePerception 159
CHAPTER 20:RUMINATIONS ONTHE HIDDEN POWER OF MEMORY 162
Rumination,PartOne:PsychicCystsandDistortedPerceptions 162
Rumination,PartTwo:FreeingOurselves,CreatingNewWorlds 168
CHAPTER 21:THE PRESENCE OFTHE PRESENT 173
ThePresenceofthePastandtheFutureofPresence 173
TheCharacterofOurPresent,thePresenceofOurCharacter 175
AttendingtothePresent 175
Mini-Rumination:LivingintheNow 177
TheIndivisibilityofMemory 177
CHAPTER 22:MEMORYANDTHE BRAIN 180
Where,OhWhereAreOurMemoriesStored? 180
ExperimentalAttemptstoFindMemoriesintheBrain 181
PhilosophicalProblemswiththeMemoryTraceTheory 184
BrainInjuryandMemory:Bergson’sPerspective 187
BrainInjuryandMemory:CurrentUnderstandings 190
CHAPTER 23:MINDAND MATTERAS DIFFERENT RHYTHMS OF DURÉE 193
TheInterweavingofMindandMatter 193
QuantityandQuality:TheDifferenceOvercome 195
RhythmsofDurée 196
CHAPTER 24:EMBODYING MEMORY 199
CopingwithMemory 199
Rumination:GettingDreamyandGoingonAutomatic 200
LearningPhysicalMovements 202
MovingIntuitively 205
Rumination:BodilyIntuitions 210
CHAPTER 25:BECOMING CONSCIOUS OFTHE SUBCONSCIOUS 216
ConsciousnessandUnconsciousness 216
Rumination:TheSubconsciousandSuperconsciousness 219