• Sign up
  • ‎What is Shvoong?‎
  • Sign In
    Sign In
    Remember my username Forgot your password?

Summaries and Short Reviews

.

Shvoong Home>Arts & Humanities>"Creative evolution" Summary

.

"Creative evolution"

Book Summary by: mulec    

Original Author: Henri Bergson
This abstract was translated from "Ewolucja twórcza"
The author of this work , his creation ( he was awarded by Nobel`s reward ) , his opinions were unusully popular in beginning
twenty century. However fashion pass away so fashion for Bergson was over too. Besides who reads philosophers today ? Henri Bergson showed his vision of evolution in his Creative evolution. According to his opinion evolution is not a straight line , but there are many roads and paths blind sometimes , in which the nature had gone astray because there is not expediency in this way , but only vital impulse pushing lively organisms - who knows where. According to Bergson the evolution went in two different directions - development of intellect and instinct. As if the nature had to share these two worths, for both cannot co-exist. The top of instinct made by insects and their organization of society for example by ants.Obviously the top of achivement of development of intellect is human`s mind. Is it sure ? We had lost by a way the instinct and we had become poorer with experiences. Human`s intelligence can notice life and his symptoms only outside. We cant`t feel inside life any more ( anyway only not numerous can perceive inside). We see reality as not totality , but piece by piece.The intelligence is use of man for survival and in order to subjugate of reality - for activity , making items , exploration of inorganic nature.The man exploring his environment hast to it cut , share , take to pieces . I agree with Bergson . Perhaps adults don`t notice this any more , but look at a small child when get a new toy - the kid has to unscrew , look into every part of it , every screw. In this way the man perceives objects around himself - as isolating parts , and not entirety.This entirety we behold only intuitive , but it is declining by us or we treat it disdainful peculiary at era of intellect and developing technician thought .There is not place for stupid presentiments ! The scientists and all sciense is haughty . They consider themselves as omniscient . Meanwhile they behold only isolating composites , parts and cuttings of reality.And close these cuttings inside mathematical formulas and physical rights.However the world is not a machine . The man ist not a machine. If even the scientists establish a scheme of operation of a seperating system it does not mean , that they know all true of entirety. Because the nature and the evolution don`t submit human thinking. The evolution doesn`t work according to rights , which people could change into numbers.The evolution is creative.We can`t anticipate the future and the direction its development- we don`t know where it aims and what shape it assume. Only the artists are able to comprehend it. Just the artists create unforeseen,unlikly,incomparable things , which the scientists can`t measure and count . It is impossible to express these things by trivial language using by us usually. They are ( the artists) just closest to knowledge of secret of nature`s creation. The man has defective mind , which can look at the world in the geometrical way as solids, lines , sectors . We dispose of speech but language can`t describe exactly reality . We aren`t able to perceive of mutability and continuous becoming . Our language hasn`t such words , which could express this continuous changability and continuous becaming. The evolution by Bergson relies on it - on continuous impulse - vital impulse .The miserable man`s mind isn`t able to understand it althought we boast of it. But still we never are the same , we never think in the same way. If we are thinking at the moment we are wealther of something that we have thought before.If we are doing something we are richer about past experience.Is the human`s mind a benefit or an execration then?
Published: January 29, 2006
Please Rate this Review : 1 2 3 4 5

Bookmark & share this post

.