French Literature Reviews - 2026

Y. Kisukidi, Bergson ou l'humanité créatrice
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

Bibliographic reference: Y. Kisukidi, Bergson ou l'humanité créatrice, 2014.

Bergson ou l'humanité créatrice
Yala Kisukidi

PUBLICATION DATE: 03/10/13 PUBLISHER: CNRS ISBN: 978-2-271-07895-7 EAN: 9782271078957 FORMAT: Paperback NO. OF PAGES: 305 p.

Bergsonian philosophy as political? Was the thinker of the élan vital and duration truly engaged in the affairs of the city? Posterity has largely overlooked this dimension within the immense oeuvre of the 1927 Nobel laureate in Literature. By bridging this gap, Yala Kisukidi sparks a stimulating reflection that reinvigorates our understanding of Bergsonism. Spanning from *Creative Evolution* (1907) to *The Two Sources of Morality and Religion* (1932), she sheds light on an ambitious political philosophy rooted in a metaphysics of life.

The famous distinction between the closed and the open plays a central role here: human beings fulfill themselves in necessarily creative openness rather than in the closure (war, racism) demanded by nature to satisfy specific needs. This realization leads Bergson to champion democracy and the defense of human rights, both philosophically and institutionally. Yala Kisukidi restores the full contemporary relevance of this thought, bringing Bergson into dialogue with postcolonial thinkers, as well as authors advocating for a more open approach to religion and politics, such as Mohammed Iqbal for Islam and Léopold Senghor for Africa.

Yala Kisukidi teaches ethics and philosophy at the University of Geneva.

Table of Contents

HUMANITY AND CREATION
Élan vital and Creative Life
God, Man, the Universe, and Worlds
Human Natures

ART AND CREATIVE LIFE
The Figure of the Artist as Creator
The Action of Art
Art as the Incomplete Triumph of Creative Life

MYSTICISM, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND DEMOCRACY: ON POLITICAL CREATION
Mysticism and Politics
The Politics of the Brother, the Politics of the Enemy
Openness: Human Rights and Democracy

* * *

An article on this work can be read on the nonfiction.fr website:

Henri Bergson remains a central figure in twentieth-century French philosophy, primarily recognized for his concepts of duration and the élan vital. While his work initially focused on consciousness and time, his later writings addressed the intersection of ethics, religion, and social organization. Readers interested in the evolution of French philosophical traditions and the application of vitalist concepts to political structures may find this analysis relevant to their research.

The distinction between closed and open societies serves as a foundational element in Bergson's social philosophy, contrasting social structures with the creative potential of human openness. By examining works such as Creative Evolution and The Two Sources of Morality and Religion, the volume discusses how Bergson’s ideas regarding human nature and creativity provide a framework for conceptualizing democracy and human rights. The author connects these principles to the perspectives of postcolonial thinkers and global intellectual figures.

"Dusting off Bergsonian political anthropology", by S. Favreau.