BERGSON, HENRI

born Oct. 18, 1859, Paris, France died Jan. 4, 1941, Paris Bergson, 1928 in full Henri-Louis Bergson French philosopher, the first to elaborate what came to be called a process philosophy, which rejected static values in favour of values of motion, change, and evolution. He was also a master literary stylist, of both academic and popular appeal, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1927. Additional reading Henri Bergson, OEuvres, 5th ed. (1991), with notes by Andr Robinet, is the best collection of his works. Selections from Bergson, ed. by Harold A. Larrabee (1949), provides a good introduction in English to his writings. P.A.Y. Gunter, Henri Bergson: A Bibliography, rev. 2nd ed. (1986), lists works by and about Bergson.A good sympathetic account in French of his life and work is Vladimir Janklvitch, Henri Bergson (1959, reissued 1989). Jean Guitton, La Vocation de Bergson (1960), presents a good account of Bergson the man.Bertrand Russell, The Philosophy of Henri Bergson (1914, reprinted 1978), is highly critical. Critical, yet also sympathetic, are Jacques Chevalier, Henri Bergson, trans. by Lilian A. Clare (1928, reissued 1970; originally published in French, 1926); and Jacques Maritain, La Philosophie bergsonienne, 3rd ed. (1948). Romo Arbour, Henri Bergson et les lettres franaises (1956), covers his influence on literature and the arts. A.E. Pilkington, Bergson and His Influence: A Reassessment (1976), examines Bergson's influence on four younger contemporaries. Gilles Deleuze, Bergsonism (1988; originally published in French, 1966), provides an introduction to Bergson's philosophy. A.R. Lacey, Bergson (1989), is a more advanced treatment.