Freedom, Creativity, and Life

Module title	Freedom, Creativity, and Life
Module code	POL3301
Academic year	2023/4
Credits	30
Module staff	Dr Robin Durie (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	11	11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	15

Module description

This module focuses on the philosophy of the French writer Henri Bergson. The module should be of interest to any students who wish to consider new ways of approaching traditional problems in philosophy, such as free will or the mind-body problem; or thinking about fundamental issues such as the nature of time, or if life itself. It will also be of interest to students who are intrigued by how philosophy can relate to other disciplines, such as theoretical science or the creative arts.

No prior knowledge of the history of philosophy is required for this module.

This module is suitable for both specialist and non-specialist students.

This module is recommended for interdisciplinary pathways.

Module aims - intentions of the module

In the early years of the 20th Century, Henri Bergson was the most famous philosopher in Europe. Crowds flocked to hear him when he lectured in Oxford, and he was involved in an eagerly anticipated public debate with Einstein in Paris. He was a decisive influence on Modernist writers such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, Proust, Gertrude Stein and D.H. Lawrence, as well as artists such as Matisse, Duchamp and the Italian Futurists. His influence was acknowledged by Pragmatist philosophers such as James, Dewey and Whitehead, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1927. After the 1st World War, however, Bergson’s star waned, partly as a consequence of attacks by Bertrand Russell. In recent years, philosophers and scientists have begun to reassess Bergson’s work, and specifically, the ways in which his philosophy offers radically new ways of thinking about time, memory and life, as well as key philosophical debates about metaphysical dualism, free will and the mind-body problem.

This module will:

Introduce Bergson’s key ideas through a close reading of his three most important texts: Time and Free Will, Matter and Memory, and Creative Evolution.
Explore how, and why, Bergson’s thought is so different to the dominant ways of thinking which characterise the Western philosophical tradition.
Examine how his work came to be so influential for the creative arts, and especially the era of Modernism.
Assess how his thought relates to landmark scientific theories, such as Einstein’s special relativity, Darwin’s theory of evolution, and the contemporary science of complexity theory.
Consider connections between Bergson’s thinking, and non-Western traditions of philosophy, such as Hinduism.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Understand key concepts and arguments in Bergsons philosophy.
2. Understand how Bergsons ideas relate to, and critique, many central debates in the history of philosophy

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Use philosophical ideas and arguments to assess the significance and import of Bergsonism for contemporary philosophical debates
4. Use Bergsonian ideas to reflect on the interdisciplinary relations between philosophy and the creative arts, theoretical science, and non-Western traditions of thought such as Hinduism

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

5. Engage in constructive peer-evaluation
6. Work effectively in collaboration with peers

Syllabus plan

Part 1: Reading Time and Free Will; introduction to Bergson’s method; introduction to the problem of time and space in philosophy; introduction to the problem of free will.

Part 2: Reading Matter and Memory; introduction to the problem of dualism; the relation between time and memory; philosophy and psychology; psychological pathologies – “deja vu”, dreams and phantasms.

Part 3: Reading Creative Evolution; introduction to evolutionary theory; philosophy of life.

Part 4: Interdisciplinary Bergson – connections with creative arts; theoretical science; non-Western traditions of thinking. Preparation for final essay.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
42	258	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	42	21 x 2 hour seminars
Guided Independent Study	150	Preparation for seminars
Guided Independent Study	60	Research
Guided Independent Study	48	Coursework

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Plan/draft for 1st summative essay	1000 words	1, 2	Oral and written feedback

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	40	2500 words	1-3	Written comments
Case study research essay	60	4000 words	1-6	Written comments

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay (2500 words)	Essay (2500 words)	1-3	Referral/Deferral period
Case study research essay (4000 words)	Case study research essay (4000 words)	1-6	Referral/Deferral period

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Primary Texts

Bergson, H. Creative Evolution, tr., Arthur Mitchell, New York: Dover, 1998 [1911].
Bergson, H. Matter and Memory, tr., N.M. Paul and W.S. Palmer, New York: Zone Books, 1994.
Bergson, H. Time and Free Will: An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness, tr., F.L. Pogson, Montana: Kessinger Publishing Company, original date, 1910.

Secondary reading

Ansell Pearson, K., 2011. Henri Bergson: An Introduction London: Routledge.
Bergson, H. 1920. Mind-Energy, tr., H. Wildon Carr, London: McMillan and Company.
Bergson, H. 1977. The Two Sources of Morality and Religion, trs., R. Ashley Audra and Cloudsley Brereton, with the assistance of W. Horsfall Carter, Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Bergson, H. 1999. Duration and Simultaneity, Robin Durie (ed.), Manchester: Clinamen Press.
Deleuze, G. 1991. Bergsonism, Hugh Tomlinson and Barbara Habberjam (trs.), New York: Zone Books.
Guerlac, Suzaane, 2006. Thinking in Time: An Introduction to Henri Bergson, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Jankélévitch, Vladimir. 2015. Henri Bergson. Translated by Nils F. Schott. Durham: Duke University Press.
Kolakowski, L., 1985. Bergson, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lacey, A.R., 1989. Bergson, New York: Routledge.
Lawlor, L., 2003. The Challenge of Bergsonism: Phenomenology, Ontology, Ethics, London: Continuum Press.
Lefebvre, Alexandre and Nils F. Schott, 2020. Interpreting Bergson: Critical Essays, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lundy, C. 2018. Deleuze’s Bergsonism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Mullarkey, John, 1999. Bergson and Philosophy, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Mullarkey, John (ed.), 1999. The New Bergson, Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Russell, B., 1912. “The Philosophy of Bergson,” The Monist, 22: 321–347.

Key words search

Bergson, time, memory, life, freedom, dualism, creativity

Credit value	30
Module ECTS	15
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	6
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	25/07/2023
Last revision date	02/08/2023