Henri Bergson (1) - Introduction

Henri Bergson, late 19th – early 20th century French philosopher, authored an original philosophy that contains elements which would later get a fuller expression in both existentialism and phenomenology. He is most famous for his unique conception of time, which he called duration, a compelling interpretation of Darwin’s natural selection, and a method of thinking he called intuitionism. An immensely popular intellectual figure at the beginning of the 20th century, his star fell precipitously after WW2 under withering criticism from Bertrand Russell, and as a result of his (almost unanimously misunderstood, I believe) critique of Einstein’s relativity theory. This video is an introduction to this great philosopher, whose legacy has, in my opinion, fallen victim to the hegemony of the materialistic, scientific mode of thought in which we live. I discuss how I plan to structure this series, briefly introduce the three must-read books if you want to understand Bergson, and outline a quick (highly abridge