Élan VitalRevisited: B ergson and the Thermodynamic Paradigm

Abstract

Abstract The received view ofBergson's philosophy of life is that it advances some form of vitalism under the heading of an “élan vital.” This paper argues against the vitalistic interpretation ofBergson'sélan vitalas it appears inCreativeEvolution (1907) in favor of an interpretation based on his overlooked reflections on entropy and energetics. Within the interpretation developed here, theélan vitalis characterized not as a spiritualistic “vital force” but as a tendency of organization opposed to the tendency of entropic degradation. It is then shown howBergson's view of evolution and living organization resonates with more contemporary scientific approaches belonging to a “thermodynamic paradigm” in theoretical biology in different respects, including the critique of neo‐Darwinism and the positing of a driving force behind evolution. Finally, the special interest thatBergson's philosophical biology bears today is considered in terms of the connection between the concepts ofélan vitaland duration.

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