The Meaning of the War - Life and Matter in Conflict: With a Chapter from Bergson and his Philosophy by J. Alexander Gunn

by Henri Bergson, John Alexander Gunn (Contributor)

"The Meaning of the War - Life and Matter in Conflict" is a 1915 work within which Henri Bergson explores Germany's policy of 'might is right' as practised by Bismarck, the Prussian empire, and Germany in its long and bloody history of aggression against its neighbours. Contents include: "Life Of Bergson", "Introduction", "Life And Matter At War", and "The Force Which Wastes And That Which Does Not Waste". Henri-Louis Bergson (1859-1941) was a French-Jewish philosopher. He had a significant influence on the tradition of continental philosophy during the first half of the twentieth century until World War II, and is famous for his idea that immediate experience and intuition are more important than abstract rationalism and science for understanding the nature of reality. In 1927, Bergson received The Nobel Prize in Literature. Other notable works by this author include: "The Philosophy of Poetry: The Genius of Lucretius" (1884), "Time and Free Will: An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness" (1889), and "Matter and Memory" (1896). This classic work is being republished now in a new edition complete with a Chapter From "Bergson And His Philosophy" by J. Alexander Gunn.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, War

33 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2005

About the author

Popular and accessible works of French philosopher and writer Henri Louis Bergson include Creative Evolution (1907) and The Creative Mind (1934) and largely concern the importance of intuition as a means of attaining knowledge and the élan vital present in all living things; he won the Nobel Prize of 1927 for literature.

Although international fame and influence of this late 19th century-early 20th century man reached heights like cult during his lifetime, after the Second World War, his influence decreased notably. Whereas such thinkers as Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean Paul Sartre, and Lévinas explicitly acknowledged his influence on their thought, Bergsonism of Gilles Deleuze in 1966 marked the reawakening of interest. Deleuze recognized his concept of multiplicity as his most enduring contribution to thinking. This concept attempts to unify heterogeneity and continuity, contradictory features, in a consistent way. This revolutionary multiplicity despite its difficulty opens the way to a re-conception of community, or so many today think.

Reviews

[ROLLAND Florence · Rating 4 out of 5]

"To ensure that it would never be broken, Germany must be made to feel, for ever and ever, the necessity of the armour in which she was imprisoned."

"Industry was free to develop in all directions, but [...] war was the end in view."

It was too difficult to find the original text (in French) so I ended up reading the English translation.

This is the transcription of a speech given to the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences by Bergson in 1914. This short text tries to understand how Germany ended up in a position to declare war. Bergson underlines the pivotal role of Bismarck, but also the importance of Austria. According to him, Alsace and Lorraine were invaded by Germany because the Germans did not want to preserve a hope of reconciliation with France. This is extremely interesting.

The role of industry in the ramp up to war is also interesting. Is that what Trump has in mind when he talks about re-industrialization of the USA? Is war the end goal (if you go to war, you do not want to depend on factories that may be on enemy soil)?

Even the section about "superior" nations, and others that must be tolerated, resonates really well. In the German national hymn, there used to be "Deutschland über alles" (Germany above everything). It was removed after WWII.

In short, this is easy to read, and packed with interesting ideas that aged well. It resonates with recent international events, and not in a good way. But isn't history bound to repeat himself if we don't pay attention?

[Bala · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Whilst the force which feeds only on its own brutality is gradually spending itself, the opposing force which seeks outside and above itself a principle of life and renovation is continually remaking itself. The one is already wavering, the other abides unshaken. Have no fear, our force will slay theirs.”

[Galicius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henri Bergson calls Germany to account for their policy of “might is right” as practiced by the evil imperialist Bismarck, the Prussian empire, and Germany in its long history of aggression against its neighbors.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is remarkably prescient about WWII Germany, and perhaps the most cogent response that I have read to Speer's "technological man" argument -- though it predates it by a good 30 years.

[OSCAR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un vil panfleto de guerra. Como dijo Ramiro de Maeztu, en la gran guerra se vio un gran despliegue de erudición para justificar lo más abyecto. Como suele ocurrir en cierta literatura proveniente de países no germánicos, se retrató a Alemania como un país donde no había valores y únicamente predominaba la fuerza, la nuda fuerza. Claro, para cualquier despistado, lo mejor es escoger algún valor de la paleta de éstos (democracia, vida, paz, libertad), que alabar el triunfo de la voluntad. Sin embargo, Charles Maurras, francés, no tuvo reparos en decir que quién no alabaría la potencia de su propia fuerza. Con una contundente afirmación, Bergson queda en ridículo.

Bergson procedió a hacer la misma comparación de siempre: Francia= buena, Alemania=Mala, Francia defiende la vida, Alemania la mata, etc. Si uno no es francés ni demócrata, no deja de reparar que justamente Alemania debería haber sido más reconocida no solamente por haber creado una máquina de guerra tan magnífica, tan orgullosa, sino haber estudiado cómo Bismarck, el malvado autócrata, logró construir un estado que funcionaba como aparato de relojería. La constitución del segundo Reich da importancia al Estado como instrumento de la casta militar: todo súbdito es un soldado en potencia y además se da importancia a las vías férreas para la defensa nacional, aspecto que se mantuvo en la constitución de Weimar.

Como vil propaganda de guerra, Bergson declaraba su fe en la vida... supongo que de haber visto el fin de la relevancia política de Francia después de la PGM y de la SGM, habría matizado sus opiniones.