Customer Reviews

Matter and Memory

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Athough some of the reviewers pick up some very important points such as the lack of clarity in "Matter and Memory", which is very evident, this is contrasted with "Creative Evolution" (CE) which was far clearer, but then different translators were involved in each case. I do believe some of the translations suffer as a result of this. However I have also found that Bergson must be read at least twice in order to grasp the, at times, convoluted concepts. I found this book to be far less whole as a complete text in comparison with CE but nonetheless there were some fascinating ideas. Some of these ideas were developed but others I felt were left to lie idle. There is much depth in Bergson and one feels maybe that ordinary language is not very good at expressing his ideas which are dynamic, process based rather than, as European languages are, on nouns, a static concept.

I disagree with one of the reviewers saying how his science has been surpasssed, since almost all of his psychology is still valid as are the most important points related to a human beings own perception, I see no reason or any information which makes one state categorically that the brain must be the centre of the mind, a tool perhaps or a way of allowing the mind to come into expression but nothing like as solid which is needed for a proof of a mechanistic paradigm.

I also feel that Bergson coud be easily updated and made less convoluted by someone willing to take on his mode of thought and take into account the new science since Bergson's day, it has been 80 years or so. I believe that most of Bergson's work will in fact still be relevant, maybe even more so.

Bergson argues well that both materialism and idealism are bound to fail for in fact much the same reasons and that they are products of the same mode of thought even though their concepts are at polar opposites, sometimes a mode of thought is easily hidden by a different concept which maintains the same underpinning implicit/unconsciuous way of thinking.

Bergson is always worth reading not simply for his ideas which are fascinating even if outmoded but because of his radical thought process which allows a remarkable degree of expansion eg "There are real movements" this has many possible connotations in physics, psychology, metaphysics the realms of interest are endless. As such Bergson should be read for the ideas and the development which can occur from his work. As always with Bergson patience and multiple reads are the ways to a rewarding understanding and expansion of the mind.

Read Elizabeth Grosz's new book, In the Nick of Time, for a lucid account of Matter and Memory that could serve as a guidebook for the uninitiated who might find Deleuze equally tricky.

This book is not an edited text and I would not recommend it to anyone! The formatting is all off and it's practically impossible to read.

many philosophical thoughts amaze readers but often we found ourselves "lost" in following the philosopher's thought. Bergson, on the contrary, constantly calls the reader's attention to our own existence, better yet, "being" in the material world that many other idealist thinkers have tended to ignore. he gives us an answer to the question of body and soul (mind) with his key concept of "duration," with which we can locate ourselves both in space and "time." his idea is greatly immersed in many other thinkers, such as Deleuze, Merleau-Ponty, and even Foucault. the most important connection with the contemporary application of visual representation theory would be the idea of "time-image" which Deleuze did a good job to articulate. were it not for the understanding of "time-image," a great part of epistemological pursuit in cinema studies couldn't be possible. the 20th century's usurpage of subjectivity and abstract reason and restoration to body previously deprived its physicality under the psychological violence are surely debted to Bergson to a great extent. the more amazing is, that we could do that, still on and in the axes of time and memory, so that history can go on.

This is a SCANNED COPY of the standard English translation. As such, the text is distorted and highly annoying to read. It is also printed in HUGE letters and there is absolutely no margin to write notes in. I don't understand why 'Forgotten Books' is willing (and allowed) to publish such a poor printing of the text. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting any other version of Matter and Memory than this garbage edition.

Whatever you think of Bergson, you shouldn't read this edition of Matter and Memory.
As the publisher notes in the book (though I don't recall seeing it on Amazon's page), this is a scanned reproduction-- all typing, proofreading, and design were automated. The text is filled with typos, footnotes appear to be run into the body of the text, and it is barely readable.

This copy is free of formatting errors and other issues described by some reviewers. Bergson's works speaks for itself. Matter And Memory

Perhaps, the only original thinker in the XX century who gives one the keys to rethinking the history of philosophy.

Now I've read this book 7 times.So the contents of this book is much clearer than the first time. It's very logic and something heartfull.That's because Bergson argues logically and his theories are based on science.That sounds like his conclusions on human mind or something are severe: human mind depends on the brain and disappears when he or she dies.But Begson argues it's not. Both scientific facts and reasoning say that human mind is related to the brain but never depends on it. I find this book very beatiful though I haven't read the original.So I say his logic is beatiful but even in Japanese the greatness of his thoughts flows into my mind.

Gabriel Clark-Leach's comments reveal his ignorance of not only of "English students" but also of Damasio. His snide generalizing is indicitive of the quality of his thinking.