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I am reading Michael Foley's book on Henri Bergson and the introduction mentions William James' philosphical crush on Bergson and the philosophical bromance between the two men. So here's a little thread to warm your heart.
In 1902, Bergson was starting to be well regarded in philosophical circles but had not reached the international fame of the later years. William James, who was at this point an international celebrity read Bergson's Matière et Mémoire
After finishing Bergson's book James wrote to Bergson: "It fills my mind with all sorts of new questions and hypotheses and brings the old into a most agreeable liquefaction. I thank you from the bottom of my heart". Bergson was a James fan so was presumably super excited
After this they continued corresponding and in 1907 James was once again blown away by Bergson's new book, Creative Evolution. He wrote to Bergson "O my Bergson, you are a magician, and your book is a marvel, a real wonder in the history of philosophy"
James also wrote to a friend "But have you read Bergson’s new book? It seems to me that nothing is important in comparison with that divine apparition. All our positions, real time, a growing world, asserted magisterially, and the beast intellectualism killed absolutely dead!"
In 1908 James delivered a lecture on "Bergson and his Critique of Intellectualism" contributing to Bergson's rise to fame. The two philosophers met in London the same year and immediately adored each other.
James on Bergson "So modest and unpretending a man but such a genius intellectually! I have the strongest suspicions that the tendency which he has brought to a focus, will end by prevailing, and that the present epoch will be a sort of turning point in the history of philosophy"
On James, Bergson wrote: "No one loved truth with a more ardent love and no one sought it with a greater passion"
Reading Foley's book I have just learned that after James' death in 1910, Bergson kept a portrait of James in his study for the rest of his life.
No YOU'RE crying!
No YOU'RE crying!
TFW the bromance is still alive https://twitter.com/WilliamJamesSoc/status/1097924379680362496?s=19
In 1913, Bergson opened his first lecture in a series delivered at Columbia University by stating "If America had produced only William James she would have made a sufficiently great contribution to the world in the domain of philosophy and psychology"
Found in @lsmcgrath's excellent article "Bergson Comes to America"
Just been going through James' 1908 lecture on Bergson again and there are some real beautiful #bromance gems. For instance: "I have to confess that Bergson’s originality is so profuse that many of his ideas baffle me entirely. I doubt whether any one understands him all over"
This:"But open Bergson, and new horizons loom on every page you read. It is like the breath of the morning and the song of birds. It tells of reality itself, instead of merely reiterating what dusty-minded professors have written about what other previous professors have thought"
And my personal favourite: "The lucidity of Bergson's way of putting things is what all readers are first struck by. It seduces you and bribes you in advance to become his disciple. It is a miracle, and he is a real magician".
