Bruno Rates – University of São Paulo (FFLCH/USP), Brazil, Grant 2020/15114-5, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
During his lifetime, Bergson enjoyed considerable influence on the Anglophone intellectual scene, notably in the United Kingdom and the United States. After his death, however, Bergsonian studies in English were not consolidated in a continuous and structured way, and it was necessary to wait a few decades for this situation begin to be reversed. Driven by Gilles Deleuze’s increasing penetration into the Anglo-Saxon cultural (not necessarily philosophical) world, as well as through the efforts of researchers such as Keith Ansell-Pearson, John Mullarkey (among others) and, perhaps also, by a kind of “analytic philosophy fatigue” from its own practitioners (as seen in the growing interest in metaphysical themes, for example), the critical bibliography in English found a new impetus from the 2000s onwards. But, though since then we have witnessed a small editorial boom on Bergson, whether in England or the USA, a work that was both comprehensive and specialized was still lacking. In other words, a book that would function as an instigating gateway for those who would like to establish a first contact with Bergson’s thought and, at the same time, as a rich source of research for Bergsonian scholars interested in deepening their knowledge in specific topics that could be related to their own research.
The Bergsonian Mind, published in 2022 by Routledge in the “Philosophical Minds” Series timely and exemplarily fills such a gap. Edited by Mark Sinclair and Yaron Wolf, the book contains 36 texts (plus one short “Introduction”) written by specialists from many parts of the world, and covers a wide spectrum of subjects explored by Bergson. This geographic and thematic diversity can be felt in the five parts that constitute its 510 pages: “Sources and Scene”, “Mind and World”, “Ethics and Politics”, “Reception” and “Bergson and Contemporary Thought.” In this review, given the lack of unity of the book and the heterogeneity of its texts, I will give a brief presentation of each essay followed by a critical analysis. At the end, I will make some final comments vis-à-vis the bibliography and the internationalization of Bergsonian studies. It goes without saying that this volume is a great contribution to those interested in Bergson’s philosophy, and that my critiques have the goal to promote and advance the discussion, in a true spirit of academic comradeship.
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