Using metaphorical language, Bergson described life as an “effort,” a constant striving to break free from material constraints through ever more sophisticated evolutionary innovations. Most often, however, “this effort is cut short,” Bergson wrote.10 Throughout the history of life, organisms that have failed to adapt to environmental challenges have become extinct. At both the individual and the species levels, survival has depended on organisms’ ability to demonstrate “a certain elasticity”—that is, enough adaptability to find ways around material obstacles.
