Matter and Memory

“Since the end of the last century,” Walter Benjamin wrote, “philosophy has made a series of attempts to lay hold of the ‘true’ experience as opposed to the kind that manifests itself in the standardized, denatured life of the civilized masses. It is customary to classify these efforts under the heading of a philosophy of life. Towering above this literature is Henri Bergson’s ...

“Since the end of the last century,” Walter Benjamin wrote, “philosophy has made a series of attempts to lay hold of the ‘true’ experience as opposed to the kind that manifests itself in the standardized, denatured life of the civilized masses. It is customary to classify these efforts under the heading of a philosophy of life. Towering above this literature is Henri Bergson’s early monumental work Matter and Memory.”

Along with Husserl’s Ideas and Heidegger’s Being and Time, Bergson’s work represents one of the great twentieth-century investigations into perception and memory, movement and time, matter and mind. Arguably Bergson’s most significant book, Matter and Memory is essential to an understanding of his philosophy and its legacy.

This new edition includes an annotated bibliography prepared by Bruno Paradis.

亨利·柏格森（1859-1941），法国哲学家。曾任法兰西学院哲学教授、道德与政治科学院年度主席和法兰西科学院院士。其哲学体系中的基本观念“创化论”最富有个人思维特色。他的著作文思绵密、比喻生动，富有诗的气韵。1927年，因其著作的文学造诣，被授予诺贝尔文学奖。