Life Lessons from Bergson

Life Lessons from Bergson, Michael Foley, Pan Macmillan, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4472-4561-2, Rs. 350,  Pp. 120

Henri Bergson (1859-1941) is the founder of modern process philosophy. He was the second child of Michael Bergson and Kate Levinson. Although his parents were devout Jews, he abandoned religion at an early age. He was influenced greatly by Buddhist philosophy and it is visible in his though and writings. Another significant influence in his life is that of William James, his contemporary and friend. The author identifies the close resemblance of the thought of James and Bergson and often quotes from James’ works to illustrate certain points.

The first chapter introduces the idea of process. Monotony is not something people appreciate today, in our fast paced, media dominated world. Novelty is the catchphrase. On the flipside, there are many among us who live in denial of the continuous change we experience. Process implies nothing final, no repetition in the same way and nothing fixed. Change is the essence of process. We usually look for solidity to base ourselves on especially when it comes to our ideas and beliefs but Bergson sardonically hints that there is no such solidity, everything changes. There is no self, therefore selfishness and pride are replaced by solidarity and understanding.

The idea of a process implies the concept of time and hence, the second chapter explains Bergson’s understanding of time as ‘duration’. The age old adage, “Time and tide wait for no man” reflects the view that time signifies process. Bergson distinguishes two versions of time-the measured, which refers to clock time, and the experienced, which he called duration. We have made time the enemy-a result of our fear of change. This fear primarily arises because we become obsessed with measured time. We must not learn to manage time, he says, but to let time manage us. The only escape from time is by submission to it. To experience duration, Bergson suggests meditation-immersion in the moment. Thereby enabling us to see the fluidity in events, nature, time.

The third chapter touches on intuition and its role in acquiring knowledge and beliefs. The process view propagates the idea of chance over determinism. Some of the beliefs we hold are difficult to justify and our justifications are seldom the reasons for adopting the belief in the first place. We often adopt them without reason but see in them something of ourselves. Thus, intuition becomes a key concept for Bergson. Intuition lies between instinct and reason, and intelligence is guided by instinct. When we fail to live in duration we become automatons-merely doing things, often as a result of habit. Comedy, Bergson points, helps us not to become petrified by convention or habit.

The fourth chapter deals with the role humour plays in mundane life. All of us are in danger of becoming slaves or automatons of habit or convention, which ultimately leads to petrifaction. The comic is a way of avoiding this pitfall.

The fifth chapter talks of achieving greater awareness of ourselves and the world around us. The sense of sameness leads to a sense of futility and later to fatigue. Process philosophy helps to dispel this sense of sameness through time. Similarly, the arts, dispel the sense of sameness through type. A crucial function of the arts is to prevent, or break down, dismissive labeling of persons and reveal the singular instead of the similar, the peculiar instead of the familiar, and the inscrutable instead of the understood. Bergson admires artists, poets and novelists who are able to describe reality and our human experience in ways we normally do not. Their works contain revealing insights about life and for life. They give us a novel picture of reality.

In order to arrive at an appreciation of process, perception has to be sharp, memory strong and attention focused. The sixth chapter deals with these three aspects namely, memory, perception and attention. Memory and perception are a dynamic duo in continuous interplay. Perception is the manner we interact with reality. Memory is all about making connections. Attention is focused perception, perception at work. It is a complex, dynamic process connected to all other mental functions.

Biology tells us that we, human beings, are complex organisms. The seventh chapter introduces us to this view that we are an organism. In a complex organism, the whole is never merely the sum of its parts and the parts are never entirely independent of the whole. An organism is a hectic process, operating far from equilibrium in a ceaseless metabolism that seeks out and draws in nutrients, converts them to energy, expels waste, and uses the energy to reproduce, and to regulate and renew its parts. The organismic view reinforces the process view of transience.

People regard those who seek an exalted status as irrational and delusional. This last chapter, deals with learning to experience the mystical in life, which is the ‘exalted status’ Bergson refers to. Pleasure and well-being are commonly seen as ends or goals. But Bergson urges us to go beyond. He is not playing down the importance of pleasure and well-being but warns against centering our whole life on them. Joy, understood correctly, goes beyond pleasure and well-being but is considered naïve in our day and age. He looks to religion in search of joy. He is critical of religion, which  aims to form a closed group marked by a sense of superiority. He also critiques orthodox religion saying it gives rise to groupism.

He proposes open religion spurred on by vitality and marked by the courage to challenge institutionalized ways of thinking and acting. Mystical experience is open to anyone and is not reserved to any religion. In order to have a mystical experience, one does not need a special place or context. One can have it anywhere and at any time. The mystical experience is characterized by a profound sense of oneness.

In Bergson, we find a processist celebrating fluidity, a pantheist celebrating oneness, an emergentist celebrating pure being and an existentialist celebrating personal freedom and choice. Bergson’s ideas drew quite a bit of attention in his lifetime. Some of his insights are applicable even today and the author of this work has tried to bring these to the fore. The homework section of this book provides indicators for implementing Bergson’s teachings. The book is well written and gripping. Although one may not readily endorse all that Bergson says, one must give credit to his attempt to capture and alleviate the human condition. Kudos to the author for presenting the ideas of Bergson attractively.