An Introduction to Metaphysics
by Henri Bergson · Introduction à la métaphysique
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1903
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- French
- Length
- Short · 60 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendAn Introduction to Metaphysics, translated by T. E. HulmeHackett, 1999Hulme's early translation with a new introduction by Thomas Goudge; short and cheap.
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A long essay, first published in a journal, that gives the most compact statement of Bergson's method. He distinguishes two ways of knowing a thing, moving round it through symbols and concepts, which is analysis, and entering into it, which is intuition. Metaphysics is the discipline that dispenses with symbols. The self in its duration is the one reality we know from within, and Bergson argues that the failures of both empiricism and rationalism come from trying to rebuild it out of fixed concepts.
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The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns An Introduction to Metaphysics are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
