Henri Bergson (1859–1941) was for a time the most famous philosopher in the world and is thus far one of the few to receive a Nobel Prize for his work. Among Anglophone philosophers, however, he is mostly forgotten today—which is a loss, since Bergson was a great philosopher, and better understanding of his ideas would enhance Anglophone philosophy with new problems and concepts. Bergsonism became controversial in the early twentieth century, though from our distance it is difficult to comprehend the animosity Bergson drew on himself. His work is elegant and analytical, the writing limpid, precise, and unmarred by ideology or polemic. Yet he ignited violent emotion on all sides: from the right and the left, the church and the positivists, materialists and spiritualists. Julian Benda and Jacques Maritain made their reputations at first with attacks on Bergson. Conservatives welcomed Bergson's vindication of spirit and despised his naturalization of the...

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