Bergson, "Creative Evolution," Chapter 3: The Significance of Life - Early 20th Century

Bergson, "Creative Evolution," Chapter 3: The Significance of Life - Early 20th Century

Chapter 3 of Bergson's "Creative Evolution" is devoted to "On the Significance of Life" and the debate over nature, order, and the formation of intelligence. Here the idea of creative evolution reaches its final stage, and the question is asked what the significance of life is. Bergson defined it as "the accumulation, random and profound explosion of energy. This is discussed at the end of the chapter as "the essential and the accidental in the life process" and is connected to human life and spirit.

The main focus of Chapter 3 is on the question of what human intelligence is. In conclusion, it is "materialization," the idea that intelligence appears in matter as an externalization of life. While the animal world remains in the realm of instinct, humans can externalize their motor mechanisms and use matter to create tools and reproduce their instincts. Geometry is inherent in matter, and by working with it, the intellect understands the world, reproduces multiple kinetic mechanisms, and liberates consciousness.

There are two directions here. One is to use tools to create affordances and direct them toward art and intuition. The other is to expand the order of processing through science and technology. Bergson's literary bent makes him emphasize intuition and art, but it was externalization through science that actually created the affordances of consciousness. Thus, the two should be understood as complementary to each other, not in opposition to each other.

When a work of art is produced, consciousness rises and expresses itself intuitively. When science creates tools and order, consciousness descends and becomes processed. Both ascent and descent are important, and one cannot understand the flow of life without the other. The more consciousness becomes intelligent, the more externalized it becomes and the more it deals with matter and space. This is the unique function of humans and is not found in animals.

Bergson discusses the simultaneous occurrence of matter and intellect and believes that matter exists only in the human world. Matter is formed by the flight of consciousness into space, and through that matter the kinetic mechanism of life can be reconstructed. This is a human characteristic; other animals do not overtly form concepts and do not have matter. Humans have diagrammed space, measured time, and created laws such as thermodynamics, but they are human principles and do not encompass the entire universe.

Consciousness rises and falls; when it rises, it produces works of art; when it falls, it becomes mathematics and science. Both are inherent functions of life and are not superior or inferior. Life is a movement that accumulates energy, concentrates on the ascent, and dissipates on the descent. This is a movement that is omnipresent throughout the universe, and Bergson believes that life on earth is only one form of it. Therefore, life must exist outside of the earth, and the plant and animal forms are merely the product of chance.

Furthermore, Bergson argues that the brain does not contain consciousness, but consciousness contains the brain. Consciousness is more expansive than the brain and belongs to a cosmic flow of energy. The human brain is a product of chance and should not be taken as an absolute. Rather, what is important is to create tools, to fill the spaciousness of consciousness with intuition, and to reabsorb the intellect into intuition. The restoration of intuition is the task given to man, through which the intellect can be creatively reborn.

The conclusion of Chapter 3 is this. The significance of life lies in the movement of consciousness up and down, in the accumulation and dissipation of energy. Through machines and tools, man gains a margin of consciousness and restores his intellect by connecting it to his intuition. The integration of both science and art, processing and intuition, is the mission of man, according to Bergson.