Bergsonism

Name: Bergsonism
ISBN: 9787208182189

吉尔·德勒兹 / 安靖Shanghai People's Publishing House · ChinaAug 2025

4.4

Word count: 97K words
Chapters: 9
ISBN: 9787208182189

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Summary

This is a work in which a master interprets a master.

In this book, the philosopher Deleuze attempts to interpret another philosopher, Bergson, in his own way.

Deleuze mainly draws on several important works by Bergson—Time and Free Will, Matter and Memory, and Creative Evolution—and offers a meticulous reading of several key concepts: duration, memory and virtuality, intuition, the élan vital, and the multiplicity of duration. The book's direct aim is precisely to determine the relationships among the three concepts of duration, memory, and élan vital and the developments they imply. For Deleuze, Bergson's philosophy is a rigorous, methodological philosophy built on intuition. Through Bergson, readers can clearly discern the traces of Deleuze's own important concepts such as "difference," "the virtual," and "repetition."

Editor's review

Bergsonism is not a work by Bergson himself but a systematic interpretation and reconstruction of Bergsonian philosophy by the renowned French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. First published in 1966, it is a key work in Deleuze's philosophical career. It approaches Bergson's thought through a distinctive "problematic" method, aiming to "activate" rather than "annotate" it. Deleuze liberates Bergson from the commonly misunderstood image of a "philosopher of life" or "intuitionist," distilling the rigorous core concepts of his thought—duration, memory, and élan vital—and revealing the essence of their internal philosophy of difference and creative evolution. For readers, the value of this book lies in a twofold intellectual adventure: on the one hand, it is one of the most insightful contemporary guides to understanding Bergsonian philosophy, as Deleuze clearly outlines how Bergson constructed a radical philosophical system about time, life, and creation through methodological moves such as "distinguishing true from false problems" and "replacing negation with difference"; on the other hand, it is an important window into Deleuze's own early thought, as the discussions of themes such as "difference and repetition" and "the virtual and the actual" foreshadow many germs of his later independent philosophical system. Professor An Jing's Chinese translation is accurate and fluent, supplemented by detailed translator's notes and an introduction, greatly lowering the threshold for reading and allowing Chinese readers to glimpse the full picture of this fascinating dialogue within twentieth-century philosophy. Reading this book is not only a survey of a segment of philosophical history but also a training in a vibrant method of thought.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Henri Bergson's philosophy who wish to go beyond textbook introductions and gain a deep, creative interpretation
Scholars and students studying or researching Gilles Deleuze's philosophy who wish to trace its origins and early development
Philosophy enthusiasts interested in the philosophy of time, philosophy of life, process philosophy, or contemporary continental philosophy and seeking intellectual stimulation
Readers who enjoy "master versus master" texts in intellectual history and the intellectual pleasure of understanding one thinker through another

Not a good fit for

Beginners seeking to read Bergson's original works or a traditional introductory history of philosophy
Readers lacking patience for highly conceptualized philosophical discourse and seeking light reading or practical knowledge

Reading tips

Before reading, it may help to have a rough understanding of Bergson's basic biography and core works (such as Creative Evolution and Matter and Memory), but there is no need to be intimidated; Deleuze's interpretation is itself guiding.
Focus on how Deleuze distills and reorganizes Bergson's concepts, especially "duration," "the virtual," and "difference," and consider how they form a coherent system.
Read in conjunction with Professor An Jing's afterword and related research articles to better grasp the book's place in philosophical history and its contemporary resonance.

About the publisher

Shanghai People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Shanghai People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher whose list focuses on academic monographs and general-interest titles in philosophy, social sciences, politics and law, economics and management, and history. Among its books are Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties History in the Chinese Dynastic History series; The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in foreign literature; the Wenjing Classical Translation Illustrated Edition of The Complete Greek Tragedies of Euripides; and works of social theory such as Max Weber's Economy and Society and Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Its authors include Wang Zhongluo, J.R.R. Tolkien, Luo Niansheng, and Zhou Zuoren.

版权信息
中译本说明
第一章作为方法的直观
第二章作为直接所予的绵延
第三章作为潜能性共存的记忆
第四章绵延是一还是多？
第五章作为分化运动的生命冲动
附录一柏格森是德勒兹主义者吗？
附录二德勒兹的反现象学

FAQ

Can I understand this book without having read Bergson's original works?

The book itself is a guide-like interpretive work. Deleuze's writing aims to clearly reconstruct Bergson's system, and the translator has added extensive notes. Although some background knowledge in philosophy will help, attentive readers can fully follow Deleuze's exposition and build a basic understanding of Bergson's core ideas.

Is this book an objective introduction to Bergson by Deleuze?

It is by no means a simple objective introduction. It is a highly productive and creative "encounter." Deleuze reads Bergson with his own problematic concerns (such as difference and becoming), and the result is both an exquisite interpretation and a philosophical "appropriation" and "transformation"; what the reader encounters is "Deleuze's Bergson."

What is the quality of the Chinese translation?

Professor An Jing's translation is of high quality: accurate, fluent, and adept at handling philosophical concepts. Particularly valuable is the dozens-of-pages-long "Translator's Afterword," which details the book's background, core themes, and place in Deleuze's intellectual genealogy. It is essential for understanding the whole book and can be regarded as an indispensable reading guide.

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About the author

吉尔·德勒兹 Author

Gilles Deleuze is a major French philosopher of the twentieth century. Public information is limited, and the library holds no records of his dates of birth and death, nationality, or educational background, yet it contains seven of his works, which is enough to show the character of his writing. His output ranges widely: from reinterpretations of the history of philosophy in Nietzsche and Philosophy and Bergsonism, to his commentary on a contemporary thinker in Foucault (revised edition), to the concept-dense, structurally distinctive collaborative writing of Capitalism and Schizophrenia, Volume 2: A Thousand Plateaus (revised edition). All of this reflects his preference for inventing new concepts and crossing disciplinary boundaries. The Fold: Leibniz and the Baroque (revised edition) revisits Leibniz through the Baroque. Between Philosophy and Art: Deleuze Interviews (newly revised edition) presents his thought in his own words. His works are classed under philosophy readings, Western philosophy, and social science, and have had a profound influence on contemporary humanistic thought.

安靖 Author

An Jing is an author about whom little public information is available. The library currently holds only one work by this author, Bergsonism, generally classified as a philosophy title. The book's subject indicates that An Jing's writing focuses on Western philosophy, particularly the thought of the French philosopher Henri Bergson. Bergson is known for his philosophy of life, intuitionism, and theories of time, and studies of his work typically address themes such as consciousness, duration, freedom, and creativity. By choosing Bergsonism as a title, An Jing appears to offer a thematic survey and interpretation aimed at readers interested in modern philosophy. Because details such as dates of birth and death, nationality, education, and intellectual lineage cannot be confirmed, this introduction makes no speculations about the author's life. Overall, An Jing enters the reader's view through philosophical writing on a specific topic, and the work offers Chinese readers a reference point for understanding Bergson's thought.