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Introduction. Metaphysics and History of Philosophy. Bergsonism in Latin America

Bruno Rates

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1This volume is based on the third annual conference of the Global Bergsonism Research Project, held online on 18, 24 and 25 of November 2022, in Brazil, with the support of the Federal University of São Carlos, the University of São Paulo, and the Federal University of Paraná. In addition to six papers that were originally presented at this conference, this issue also includes five essays about various themes in Bergson’s philosophy as well as a translation of an article (originally published in Portuguese) by the Brazilian philosopher Franklin Leopoldo e Silva, about Bergson’s interpretation of Aristotle. It is important to note that, along with Bento Prado Jr., Professor Leopoldo e Silva is one of the main figures that paved the way for Bergsonian studies in Brazil. His book Bergson: Intuition and Philosophical Discourse, published in 1994 in Portuguese and unfortunately not yet translated, has influenced several generations of Brazilian scholars interested in Bergson’s philosophy.

2Despite the prominence of Brazilian contributions, the intention of the conference as well of this issue was to focus on the way in which Bergson’s philosophy was received in Latin America, thus continuing the goal of the Global Bergsonism Research Project of investigating the reception of Bergson’s thought around different corners of the planet. There is no doubt that the expression “Latin America” contains a dose of arbitrariness. However, to avoid some difficulties brought by this formulation, we should maybe start with a simple question that addresses one of the cores of the Global Bergsonism Project: what is a reception? A reception is usually conceived as a transfer — simultaneously or at different moments in history — of a certain kind of knowledge from one place to another, that is, a transmission of a set of ideas that must consider the different contexts (language, history, institutional and cultural conditions, etc. to name a few) in which they are interpreted and developed. To put it in a Bergsonian way: it is a difference in continuity. It contains the One and the Otherness within itself.

3The reception presented in this dossier is not necessarily a social or a “local” reception, but rather, a philosophical reception. Unlike some of the past volumes of Bergsoniana, most of the texts in this issue are not about a specific way in which Bergson was read by Latin American philosophers (as was the case of the volume dedicated to “Bergsonism in East-Asia”), nor do they deal with a direct and mutual influence of another tradition (as was the case with “Bergsonism in North America”). Rather, the philosophical reception presented here is marked by an effort to situate Bergsonian philosophy in relation to two interconnected dimensions: the importance given to metaphysical elements in Bergson’s philosophy and its relation to the history of philosophy, in particular contemporary philosophy. Thus, the reader will find essays about varied issues (comparative studies, scientific problems, etc.) in relation to metaphysics and history of philosophy.

4Bergson was not familiar with the Portuguese or Spanish languages nor, at least according to my knowledge, did he have any contact with Latin American philosophers (except for the Ukrainian-born Argentinian philologist Raimundo Lida, with whom he exchanged some correspondence in 1933). Despite this fact, the influence of Bergson’s thought on the Latin American philosophical and cultural landscape was relatively big. Ten years before his correspondence with Lida, in 1923, while presenting to the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation his reservations regarding the teaching of Esperanto, he wrote that the best way to “love and understand other nations” is to “learn their language and literature.” I hope this dossier enriches the international debates on Bergson’s philosophy and shows how different generations of professors and researchers from Latin America have been expanding the understanding of a specific philosophical language, that is, Bergsonism.

5I would like to thank my Brazilian colleagues Débora Morato Pinto and Maria Adriana Cappello for their help in organizing the congress in November 2022. I would also like to thank Caterina Zanfi who also participated directly in the organization of the congress, as well as the conception of this issue, besides having, along with M. Sait Özervarli, envisioned and initiated the Global Bergsonism Project. Lastly, my thanks go to Emily Herring for her effort and patience in producing this volume of Bergsoniana, and to Professor Leopoldo e Silva and Revista Discurso for allowing the publication of the translation of the text about Bergson and Aristotle.

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Bruno Rates, « Introduction. Metaphysics and History of Philosophy. Bergsonism in Latin America »Bergsoniana [En ligne], 5 | 2024, mis en ligne le 01 juillet 2024, consulté le 12 mai 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/bergsoniana/2699 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/12b4q

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Auteur

Bruno Rates

Bruno Rates is a postdoctoral research associate at University of São Paulo (Fapesp 2020/15114-5). He is the author of The Expressions of Life. Nature and Culture in Bergson’s Philosophy (Unifesp, 2023) and introduced and organized a book of selected works of the physiologist and philosopher Pierre-Jean-Georges Cabanis (Unesp, 2023). He is currently working on a book about how life sciences and evolutionism shaped the philosophical problem of “human’s place in nature.”

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