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.
Henri BergsonRead
Wherever anything lives, there is, open somewhere, a register in which time is being inscribed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that life and existence are continually marked by the passage of time.
Henri Bergson emphasizes the connection between life and time, proposing that every living entity has a record of its existence that is inscribed in time. He implies that to understand life, one must acknowledge the ongoing impact of time on all living things, reflecting on the dynamic nature of existence and consciousness.
Themes
TimeLifeExistencePhilosophyRecord
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophy class discussion on the nature of time and existence, this quote can illustrate how life is intertwined with the passage of time.
More from Henri Bergson
All quotes βTo exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
Henri BergsonRead
Laughter is the corrective force which prevents us from becoming cranks.
Henri BergsonRead
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.
Henri BergsonRead
Religion is to mysticism what popularization is to science
Henri BergsonRead
And I also see how this body influences external images: it gives back movement to them.
Henri BergsonRead
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