Bergson and History: Transforming the Modern Regime of Historicity (Suny Series in Contemporary French Thought)

Explores the philosophy of history of Henri Bergson and shows its relevance to contemporary historical thought. Henri Bergson is famous for his explorations of time as duration, yet he rarely referred to history in his writings. Simultaneously, historians and philosophers of history have generally disregarded Bergson’s ideas about the nature of time. Modernity has brought change at an ever-accelerating rate, and one of the results of this has been a tendency toward presentism. Only the here and now matters, as past and future have been absorbed by the “omnipresent present” of the digital age. In highlighting the role of history in the work of Bergson, Bergson and History shows how his philosophy of life allows us to revise the modern conception of history. Bergson’s philosophy situates history within a broader framework of life as a creative becoming, allowing us to rethink important topics in the study of history, such as historical time, the survival of the past, and historical progress. Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction: History, Presentism, Bergsonism 1. The Case of the London Cenotaph 1. Historicism, Postmodernism, and the Absent Past 2. Lutyens and the Cenotaph 3. The Cenotaph as Metonymical Commemoration 4. Rethinking the Past 5. Conclusion 2. Historiography, Modernity, and the Acceleration of Time 1. Heidegger on History and Historicity Heidegger’s Fundamental Ontology Historicity Historicity and Historiography 2. The Birth of Modern History Koselleck’s Theory of Historical Times The Acceleration of History 3. Crisis of the Modern Regime of Historicity “All that is solid melts into air” Presentism 4. Conclusion 3. Bergson and the Crisis of the Modern Regime of Historicity 1. Time and Space 2. The Clock 3. Bergson 4. Bergsonisms 5. Conclusion 4. A World Made Out of Time 1. Intuition 2. The Discovery of Pure Duration The Immediate Data of Consciousness The Self, Language, and Consciousness Freedom 3. Duration as Philosophy of Life Metaphysics of Duration The Élan Vital Instinct, Intellect, and Intuition 4. Conclusion 5. The Survival of the Past 1. Historical Duration 2. The Survival of the Past The “Existence” of the Past Bergson’s Theory of Memory 3. Duration and Historical Epistemology Rethinking “the Event” Genealogy 4. Conclusion 6. Historical Creation 1. Duration as Heterogeneous Continuity 2. Bergson’s Nonmodern Historicism Historicism Bergson’s Nonmodernity 3. A Comparison with Hegel Hegel’s Philosophy of History Bergson’s Nonmodern Ontology Dialectics and Duration 4. Conclusion 7. The Dream of Progress 1. Progress and the Enlightenment 2. The Open and Closed Society Closed Society Open Society 3. A Pendulum Endowed with Memory Two Historical Laws Industrial Modernity and the Problem of War 4. Conclusion Conclusion: Assessing Presentism Ontology and Historical Time Epistemology and Methodology Historiography Bibliography Index "In this book, Leon ter Schure demonstrates the value of Bergson's philosophy of life for a more expansive understanding of history. Bergson is known for his explorations of time as duration, yet in his writings rarely referred to history. At the same time, historians and philosophers of history have not significantly incorporated Bergson's ideas about the nature of time into their work. Modernity has brought change at an ever-accelerating rate, and one of the results of this has been a tendency toward presentism. Only the here and now matters, as past and future have been absorbed by the "omnipresent present" of the digital age. Rather than isolating human history from the history of the natural world, Bergsonism situates history within the broader framework of the evolution of life and allows us to imagine the past instead as a living resource for the invention of the future. This not only reveals a unique sense of history's creative potential, it also allows for a rethinking of important topics in the study of history, such as historical time, the survival of the past, and historical progress"-- Provided by publisher Leon ter Schure is an independent scholar who received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.