The Reality of Matter in the Philosophy of Henri Bergson

The purpose of this study is to examine as closely as possible the many faceted teaching of Bergson on the meaning of matter. Its goal is to see whether or not Bergson provides room for matter as a reality distinct from spirit within the framework of his durational metaphysics. That the reality of matter as distinct from spirit is a perplexing question for anyone who is anxious to take Bergson seriously will, we believe, emerge clearly from the overview of Bergson\u27s metaphysics of durational reality sketched in the first chapter of this study. For what we reach at the conclusion of that chapter of this study. For what we reach at the conclusion of that chapter is a metaphysics in which reality is global and undivided growth, progressive invention, duration, and in which the hallmark of the real is this inner duration, pure change, a thing spiritual or impregnated with spirituality. The question thus arises how matter, which by definition is not spirit, can be real in any genuine sense. The issue of matter\u27s reality, consequently, is immediately posited by the very character of Bergson\u27s metaphysics of durational metaphysics