Vaughan, Michael (2010) Creative revolution : Bergson's social thought. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

I have three main aims in writing this thesis on the social thought of Henri
Bergson: to establish what society is in his view, to work out the implications of
this for individuality, and to demonstrate the contemporary value of his
philosophy as a whole, thus construed. It will be the task of the first two chapters
to establish that society is a biological and cultural reality for Bergson. This will
involve the demonstration that Bergson’s understanding of living systems can be
applied to groups as well as to single organisms, and that while the biological
evolution of society underlies both individual actions and cultural evolution they
nevertheless remain irreducible to it. In chapter three, I will consider the
implications of his account of society for our understanding of the individual.
These implications will be quite serious, as Bergson attributes an irreducible
agency to society that immediately demands a re-assessment of the agency of the
individual in terms of a participation in wider natural and cultural processes, and
specifically a re-assessment of the central Bergsonian notion of individual
freedom in the context of this natural and cultural evolution. In the conclusion, I
will make a case that the value of Bergson’s philosophy today is that it can help
us to move beyond the mechanistic paradigm that has dominated western thought
since the scientific revolution by providing a powerful image of our relation to
each other and to nature that is based on participation rather than control.
In addition, there are two themes running through the thesis. One concerns
Bergson’s critique of dogmatism both in philosophy and in the sciences, and his
insistence that new ways of thinking be developed in response to new experience
that cannot be integrated into existing interpretive models. In order to remain
true to the spirit of his thought it has in many places been necessary to re-think
his conclusions in relation to a new scientific context, rather than merely repeat
what he says. The other concerns Bergson’s strong commitment to the role that
philosophy can play in overcoming the natural tendency to control our
environment, a tendency that he saw gaining a dangerous hold over the human
spirit in the age of industrial capitalism. The essence of philosophy in this
context is revealed to be a shift in attitude from control to participation.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Bergson, Henri, 1859-1941 -- Criticism and interpretation, Bergson, Henri, 1859-1941 -- Political and social views, Social evolution
Official Date:	September 2010
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Philosophy
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	[Not provided].
Extent:	272 leaves.
Language:	eng

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