Bergson's Philosophy of BiologyVirtuality, Tendency and Time

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About this book

Reconstructs Bergson’s philosophy of biology in dialogue with the life sciences of today
  • Critically reappraises Bergson’s evolutionary metaphysics
  • Includes summaries, interpretations and evaluations of Bergson’s various engagements with evolutionary theory
  • Provides a counterpoint to the traditional understanding of Bergson as a phenomenologist
  • Offers a critical rejoinder to Bergson's reputation as a metaphysical vitalist by bringing his work into dialogue with arguments and issues in the philosophy of science
  • Makes a strong case for Bergson’s interdisciplinary relevance outside of the typical fields of philosophy, literature and the arts

We are in the midst of a return to Henri Bergson – the French philosopher whose influence touches the fields of continental philosophy, literary theory and art theory. This revival of interest in his work could even be called a full-blown Bergson renaissance. Tano S. Posteraro contributes to this increasingly serious study of Bergson’s philosophy with a tight focus on Bergson’s theory of evolution. He presents an alternative Bergson: not a phenomenologist whose central concern is the conscious experience of lived time or the lived body in time, but a systematic philosopher of biology with a robust, prescient and largely workable evolutionary programme.

Table of contents

Introduction: Between Philosophy and Biology1. Vitalism, Psychology, and Metaphysics2. Outline and Overview

1. The Actual: Mechanism, Finalism, Modality

Introduction1.1. Mechanisma. Adaptationismb. Developmental Constraint1.2. Finalisma. Inner Purposivenessb. The Metaphysics of Possibilityi. The Falsity of the Problemii. The Retrospective Illusion1.3. Geneticsa. Developmentb. EvolutionConclusion

2. The Virtual: Instantiation, Implication, Dynamics

Introduction2.1. Instantiationa. Imagesb. Possibilitiesc. Affordances2.2. Implicationa. Contractionb. Themesc. Memory2.3. Dynamicsa. Inventionb. Affordancesc. PerformancesConclusion

3. A Discourse on Tendency

Introduction3.1. Intellectual Effort and Élan Vital3.2. The Development of an Idea3.3. The Theory of Tendency3.4. The Modal-Mereological Difference3.5. Virtuality and the Dispositional ModalityConclusion

4. Individuality and Organization

Introduction4.1. Spatializationa. Isolationb. Externalizationc. Localization4.2. Temporalizationa. Individuationb. Interpenetrationc. DurationConclusion

5. Finalism Inverted

Introduction5.1. Rhythm and Reproduction5.2. Weismann Redux5.3. Orthogenesis5.4. Vitalism in Disputea. Entelechyb. Individuality5.5. True Finalisma. Externalityb. Commonalityc. PsychologyConclusion

6. Canalization and Convergence

Introduction6.1. Canalizationa. Images for Developmentb. Vision and its Apparatusc. The Inside of Indetermination6.2. Convergencea. Definitionsb. Unity and Complementarityc. Recollection and Returnd. Conservation and ConstraintConclusion

Concluding Remarks and Future Directions

Bibliography

About the author

Tano S. Posteraro

Tano Posteraro is SSHRC Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at Concordia University. He is co-editor, with Michael Bennett, of Deleuze and Evolutionary Theory (Edinburgh University Press, 2019) and author of a number of articles and chapters on biological themes in Bergson, Whitehead, Ruyer and Deleuze.