Time and Free Will

Henri Bergson's Time and Free Will opens with a bold challenge to the habits of ordinary thought: we mistake the living flow of consciousness for something fixed, measurable, and spatial. Guided by the classical spirit of Plotinus, Bergson invites readers into a more intuitive philosophy of lived time, where duration is qualitative, the self is not mechanical, and freedom can be understood at its deepest level. This influential essay argues that many disputes about free will arise from a basic confusion between time and space, succession and simultaneity, quality and quantity. Bergson examines whether sensations, feelings, and efforts can truly be measured, then develops his distinction between quantitative multiplicity and the inner continuity of experience. Against both physical and psychological determinism, he defends freedom as real, rooted in the deeper self rather than abstract clock time. Surrounding the text is a rich scholarly record that shows Bergson's wide-reaching influence. His ideas on intuition, memory, creativity, evolution, religion, realism, laughter, and the philosophy of action sparked vigorous debate across France, Britain, the United States, Europe, and Latin America, drawing philosophers, psychologists, theologians, critics, and literary thinkers into a lasting and contested conversation. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.