Creative Evolution Theory

Author: Bergson
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-07-01
Features: The author, Bergson, was a renowned French philosopher of the 20th century, the founder of "the philosophy of change," and a key representative of "irrationalism." This book is a masterpiece of his "philosophy of change," first published in 1907. He acknowledged evolution, believing that the entire evolutionary process is the "life impulse" in continuity. Evolution is creative, not mechanical; its development is driven on one hand by instinct leading to the life of insects, and on the other by intellectual evolution. Bergson's influence has extended beyond the realm of philosophy. The book was published in Paris, France, in 1906, proposing and arguing the author's theory of the "life impulse" and the intuitionist methodology. It was translated into Chinese by Zhang Dongsun in 1919 under the title "Creative Evolution." This book marks the completion of Schopenhauer's life philosophy. The continuity of deep consciousness is the essence of life, the fundamental nature of all reality. Life as a whole becomes the material for examination and the background of knowledge, and everything—things, theories, knowledge, and methods—must be reevaluated: the theory of knowledge must be combined with the theory of life, mutually promoting each other. The theory of life must maintain a critical stance toward knowledge to avoid passively accepting concepts arbitrarily proposed by understanding, while the theory of knowledge must restore the rightful place of intellect in the overall evolution of life to reveal the framework of knowledge and how to expand and transcend it. Only in this way can a new philosophy be forged. Material, knowledge, and intellect acquire vivid meaning in the life impulse, continuity, and intuition, while the life impulse, continuity, and intuition themselves are clearly revealed. At the same time, the evolutionary form of the life impulse is given a complete description. Since life as a whole has become the deep background for recognizing itself and its objects, this book is undoubtedly an important text for humanity to reconstruct philosophy; it fully encompasses the paradoxes and difficulties of such a construction.