Creative Evolution

audiobook

Creative Evolution

by Henri Bergson

EN·~13 hours

Chapters

Description

In this thought‑provoking treatise the author traces the development of intellect from the simplest vertebrates to modern humans, arguing that our capacity to think is inseparably linked to the way living beings adapt to their environment. He shows how our logical habits—shaped by the solid, inanimate world—excel at geometry and mechanical reasoning, yet stumble when applied to the fluid, ever‑changing processes of life itself. The early chapters lay out the tension between the rigid categories of traditional philosophy and the dynamic, creative forces that drive biological evolution.

The work then turns to a radical proposal: evolution is not merely a mechanical chain but a creative, ongoing emergence that cannot be captured by static concepts of cause and effect. By exposing the limits of conventional logic, the author invites listeners to reconsider how consciousness, freedom, and novelty arise from the living world. Engaging and clear, the essay opens a dialogue between science and philosophy that remains strikingly relevant today.

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Details

Language

en

Duration

~13 hours (771K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by Rick Niles, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

Release date

2008-08-01

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

About the author

Henri Bergson

Henri Bergson

1859–1941

Best known for turning big questions about time, memory, and consciousness into vivid, readable philosophy, this French thinker became one of the most widely discussed intellectuals of the early 20th century. His work influenced philosophy, literature, psychology, and the arts, and he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927.

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