Henri Bergson

1859 - 1941

photo credits: Wikimedia Commons

movement: continental philosophy

country of citizenship: France

languages spoken, written or signed: French

educated at: Lycée Condorcet, École Normale Supérieure, University of Paris

occupation: philosopher, professor, sociologist, writer

award received: Nobel Prize in Literature, Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, Concours général, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Honorary Doctorate from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Honorary doctor of the University of Oxford, honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge

position held: seat 7 of the Académie française, president

student of: Émile Boutroux, Félix Ravaisson-Mollien

Henri-Louis Bergson (French: [bɛʁksɔn]; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher, who was influential in the tradition of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the Second World War, but also after 1966 when Gilles Deleuze published Le Bergsonisme. Bergson is known for his arguments that processes of immediate experience and intuition are more significant than abstract rationalism and science for understanding reality. He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his rich and vitalizing ideas and the brilliant skill with which they have been presented". In 1930, France awarded him its highest honour, the Grand-Croix de la Legion d'honneur. Bergson's great popularity created a controversy in France where his views were seen as opposing the secular and scientific attitude adopted by the Republic's officials. Source: Wikipedia (en)