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The universe... is a machine for the making of gods.
Henri Bergson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that the universe provides the conditions necessary for the development of extraordinary beings or ideas.

Henri Bergson's quote implies that the process of existence and creativity within the universe serves a larger purpose—transforming ordinary beings into something divine or godlike. This transformation may refer to personal growth, enlightenment, or artistic creation, indicating that the universe is not just a physical space, but a catalyst for profound change and evolution in consciousness.

Themes

UniverseCreationGodsTransformationExistence

In practice

Example use cases

During a lecture on the nature of existence and creativity.

More from Henri Bergson

For life is tendency, and the essence of a tendency is to develop in the form of a sheaf, creating, by its very growth, divergent directions among which its impetus is divided.
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To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
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Laughter is the corrective force which prevents us from becoming cranks.
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I believe that the time given to refutation in philosophy is usually time lost. Of the many attacks directed by many thinkers against each other, what now remains? Nothing, or assuredly very little. That which counts and endures is the modicum of positive truth which each contributes. The true statement is, of itself, able to displace the erroneous idea, and becomes, without our having taken the trouble of refuting anyone, the best of refutations.
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Religion is to mysticism what popularization is to science
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And I also see how this body influences external images: it gives back movement to them.
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Quote by Henri Bergson | QuoteProject