Book dossier

Time and free will

by Henri Bergson, Frank Lubecki Pogson

Bergson proposes a theory of time and freedom. Considered an influence on the French New Wave filmmakers, and a philosopher interested in humor and creativity, Bergson's works are generally a little awkward in translation (originals in French), but are well worth the effort. Bergson's basic argument here is that we (in literate Western cultures generally) use ideas and images associated with space to think about time, clocks and calendars as obvious examples. He says this tends to limit spontaneity and creativity in the present, because we are always using familiar images and expectations to confront the new, and we tend to think of moments in time as hardened rather than fluid as they are. This reviewer found this book to be life-changing, particularly to the degree it echoes some aspects of Eastern philosophies, psychologists interested in the experience of time, and even contemporary cultural critics like Marshal McLuhan.