Q&A: Continuation in Bergson and the Theory of Relativity
Continuation in Bergson and the Theory of Relativity
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Some time ago I read Henri Bergson's An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness, and his idea there of duration especially grabbed me.
Some time afterward I mentioned this idea to a friend of mine who works in physics, and his first instinct was to say that it seemed to him completely opposite to the way time is thought about in modern physics. That led me to read quite a few articles about the confrontation between Einstein and Bergson over the theory of relativity (although, in fact, that wasn't the criticism my friend made), but none of the articles seriously answered the question, and they all made do with analyses that had no real substance.
My question for the Rabbi is whether there really is a contradiction between Bergson's conception of duration and the empirical findings of modern physics (or even the leading theories that interpret those findings), or whether the objection I encountered stems from conceptual confusion born of a philosophical misunderstanding?
Answer
See my discussion here: https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&cx=f18e4f052adde49eb&q=https://mikyab.net/%25D7%259B%25D7%25AA%25D7%2591%25D7%2599%25D7%259D/%25D7%259E%25D7%2590%25D7%259E%25D7%25A8%25D7%2599%25D7%259D/%25D7%2597%25D7%2599%25D7%25A6%25D7%2595-%25D7%25A9%25D7%259C-%25D7%2596%25D7%2599%25D7%25A0%25D7%2595%25D7%259F-%25D7%2595%25D7%2594%25D7%25A4%25D7%2599%25D7%25A1%25D7%2599%25D7%25A7%25D7%2594-%25D7%2594%25D7%259E%25D7%2595%25D7%25%2593%25D7%25A8%25D7%25A0%25D7%2599%25D7%25AA1/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwih4dXugpuNAxVkU6QEHbZwH_gQFnoECAkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0EDN2EF4URG7facTfHIQds&fexp=72956999,72956998