How many people have a life plan thought out in stages;
College…University…a graduate job perhaps followed by marriage and then
children?
The necessity to calculate our lives into a series of stages is an
unavoidable symptom of the modern condition. For Henri Bergson this thought
process may reflect the relationship our consciousness has with time.
For Bergson human life has a dimension beyond purely biological or
mathematical explanations. His concept of vitalism is creative and
forever becoming, a fragmentation of time in this manner provides a threat
to Bergson’s illumination of value.
Bergson makes a distinction between two comprehensions of time; what may
be seen as ‘mathematical’ time and ‘creative’ time.
Mathematical time is segmented; it is a divisible series of identical
causal moments. This is a quantitative conception that ‘spatialize’s’ time, it
is capable of being measured from one point to another, and is therefore
pre-determined. For this reason mathematical time is valueless in
the sense that every moment is equal and indifferent.
Creative time is a conception that relates to direct conscious
experience. It is a flowing and diverse multitude of intensities, what might be
seen as a continuous expansion and contraction of feeling. This means creative
time has no point of reference; it is relative and fundamentally immeasurable.
This liberates conscious experience from any form of calculation or
determinism. Each moment is an evolving continuation of unique potential, but
at the same time original as it is capable of difference. This is what Bergson
means by ‘Duration’, he is absorbing time into lived experience denoting
absolute reality.
The danger for Bergson is when we confuse the two conceptions of time and therefore spatialize it. Mathematical time is useful for measurement and manipulation, but devoid of
emotion and value. Bergson believes problems occur when we do not realise this
distinction, as we begin to determine ourselves. In today’s empirical society
it is easy to begin to measure our own lives. Goals and aspirations are of
course positive, but to imagine our lives as a linear accumulation of stages
may be a diminishment of worthwhile experience.
Tony Spence
N0292867
References:
Bergson, H. (1957). Time and Free Will. An Essay on the
Immediate Data of Conciousness. Edinburgh. The Riverside Press.
Lawlor, L and Moulard, V. Henri Bergson. (Online). (2012).
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
hey tony, in reading your blog on Bergson i couldnt help but wonder if segmenting time is a human condition. I believe we can not stop ourseleves from attaching spacial units onto time. it allows us to function in the Everyday. What use is there for Philosophy if we cant apply it to our everyday to better the human condition?
ReplyDeleteHello Rahul,
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good point, and one I have to agree with. How would we be able to do anything at all without using measurements of time within our lives? We would not even be having this debate now unless we had (attempted) to make 11am lectures on a Friday. I also agree with you on the worthlessness of Philosophy unless we can take something from it; practically or existentially.
I think however this was partially my point; the calculation of life is completely unavoidable. Although I was not able to address it in detail, I also do not believe calculation should be avoided or is generally harmful. I actually think it would be completely ridiculous to suggest this, and personally find a lot of enjoyment through structuring my own life to achieve goals.
Looking at the issue through a Bergson lens, I feel he also accepted the relevance of 'Mathematical' time. Just as you rightly mentioned this being a 'Human Condition', Bergson does appear to suggest that this is the very reason we spatialize time to begin with. In other words we see time this way because of an absolute necessity to do so. So from Bergson's perspective having to 'use' time in this manner perhaps blocks us from his notion of 'Real/Creative time'.
I think for me reading Bergson's explanation of time induced a meditation on the mechanisation of life to the Nth degree. The modern world is progressively more efficient_organised_systematic_scientific. I have personally witnessed many people loose a lot of sleep over where they think they should be in life at a certain time, and plan their whole life out in stages with hopeful apprehension.
Again, I would be a complete hypocrite to say this is completely bad, as hard work and achievement requires it. However I also see much of this calculation as a result of the generic pressures society inflicts on us. Often resulting in anxiety, depression and the consuming of other important values.
This perhaps could be seen as a symptom of our dislocation with 'Real/creative time', as our obsession with calculation has had an adverse effect on our lives. Existentially this could create a diminishment of value and general happiness.
Hope this has addressed your question...and I really am sorry about the essay.
Thank you Tony, for this very clear account of Bergson, and thanks Rahul for a great question. Now, I think that what you have hit on here, especially in your last comment is a fundamental philosophical problem in Bergson. This came up a lot with last years students as too. If there are stages to our lives then newness has to arise. If newness comes into being this makes a difference or is a difference. If there are no stages nothing can happen since every moment is connected to the past. Bergson attempts to resolve this issue by arguing that the difference in duration is a degree of intensity rather than degree. If you think of a spectrum of colour from red to mauve you might ask where does the red end and the mauve begin? The same applies to Bergson, how does any new stage of life come into being at all. This is a decisive problem for the philosopher par excellence of creation.
ReplyDeleteHowever, reading Bergson charitably I think there is something in there in terms of the qualitative nature of time worth thinking about. The question is, irrespective of the contingent numbers we ascribe to clock time, calendar time etc. How these are actually lived is a different thing entirely. The question remains then for philosophy, which is more real clock time or lived qualitative time.