An Introduction to Metaphysics

By: Henri Bergson

Narrated by: Albert A. Anderson

The basic principles that Bergson articulates, especially his way of thinking about reality as a dynamic process and his view of human beings as creative and evolving, should be helpful to anyone who seeks to go beyond simply dealing with the practical demands of daily life and consider the nature of things. Of special importance is Bergson’s claim that it is both possible and necessary to know from the inside rather than confining our attention to external perspectives and points of view. Intuition is able to get beyond what is relative and place us inside reality. This essay is, as the title says, an introduction. But if we think there is more to a human being - and even to nature itself - than material structures alone, perhaps the time has come to take a fresh look at Bergson’s essay.

In "An Introduction to Metaphysics," Bergson traces the demise of metaphysics to the failure of both scientific materialism and dogmatism and to the immense success of a kind of pragmatism that promised liberation from the fruitless battles among various schools of philosophy. He also rejects relativism and criticizes the vacuum that is created when philosophers refuse to inquire about the nature of reality. To avoid metaphysics easily leads to a worldview shaped by unexamined ideas and hidden presuppositions.

Henri Bergson was born in the year that Darwin published the Origin of the Species. He could not have imagined the philosophical impact of evolutionary theory, which is now so great that Bergson’s philosophy, which emphasizes "creative evolution," is experiencing a significant revival. The basic principles that Bergson articulates, especially his way of thinking about reality as a dynamic process and his view of human beings as creative and evolving, should be helpful to anyone who seeks to go beyond simply dealing with the practical demands of daily life and consider the nature of things.

©2020 SAGA Egmont (P)2020 SAGA Egmont

Highly recommend this

I highly recommend this reading of the book. The book is excellent and thought provoking. The reading is pleasant and professional. I wish Creative Evolution that been read by this man,

A Great Of Philosophy

A classic of the Bergson oeuvre, highly recommended for its displays of brilliance and charm.

A classic essay well read

Henri Bergson's philosophy has been largely overlooked but is as relevant as ever as science increases in importance in western culture. Bergson was neither anti science, nor materialist, but wove a delicate path in the middle and created a stunningly brilliant framework that encompassed both the quantitative findings of science and the qualitative experience of mind and free will.