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Henri Bergson and Neurobiology
ABSTRACT:
Henri Bergson (1859–1941) was one of the most influential French philosophers at the turn of the 20th century. The impact of his thinking went beyond the philosophical environment. His essay Laughter is one of the most profound and original writings about the sense of humor. His ideas, with an emphasis on life, instinct, and intuition, represent a departure from the rationalist current of the Western philosophical tradition.
Today neurophysiological research confirms many of his hypotheses and elucidates their mechanisms. Intuition and “body recognition” should be seen not as the personal fantasy of an original thinker but as fundamental cognitive tools.
INTRODUCTION
One hundred years ago, the turn of the century witnessed fiery discoveries and debates in the field of neuroscience. A key figure in this process was the French-Jewish philosopher Henri Bergson, father of the new “philosophy of life”. He proposed that phylogenetic evolution at its highest point produced human intelligence, which must be seen as a biological tool.
Our representation of the external world is an instrument of the most accurate…
