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Philosophical Haiku


Henri Bergson (1859-1941)


by Terence Green




Creative life force
 Matter mastered by élan
 Onwards without end.




Henri Bergson


There have been few philosophers in history whose lectures are capable of causing traffic jams, but Henri Bergson was one.


Born in Paris to a Polish Jewish father and an English-Irish Jewish mother, he spent part of his childhood in London before the family set- tled permanently in France. Little Henri was a child prodigy, excelling in mathematics, for which he won a prize by solving a problem set by Pascal (not, in case you’re wondering, the one involving placing wagers on God’s existence).


…