Is Bergsonian Duration “Internal”? The Converted Predication of Duration in Bergson’s Philosophy

Khatibi, Seyed Ashkan

doi:10.22059/jop.2026.409936.1006975

Is Bergsonian Duration “Internal”? The Converted Predication of Duration in Bergson’s Philosophy

Document Type : Scientific-research

Author

Seyed Ashkan Khatibi

Ph.D. Graduated of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jop.2026.409936.1006975

Abstract

This paper argues that Bergsonian duration (la durée) is not inherently an internal phenomenon. However, this proposition arises by considering two distinct types of discourse within Bergson’s philosophy: on one hand, his insistence on the metaphysical nature of duration and its irreducibility to any internal or psychological state; and on the other, the undeniable prominence and frequency of references to the ‘inner’, the ‘psyche’, and ‘consciousness’ when he discusses duration. This article resolves this dichotomy by introducing the distinction between privilege and primacy. That is to say, while internal duration enjoys a privileged status in Bergson’s philosophy as the most accessible expression of duration, it is not the essential instance of duration, nor does it hold ontological primacy. However, to legitimize speaking of duration in general (not duration in a specific work among Bergson's oeuvre), an initial effort will be made to offer a methodological proposal for a particular reading of the relationship among Bergson's works. Then, based on this proposal, the second effort and the primary finding of the article will be to demonstrate that applying duration to the psyche is of the kind of converted predication (predication by conversion, aks al-haml). Finally, the significance of this finding lies in liberating Bergsonian duration from an interpretive framework that holds both historical and logical precedence over other interpretations: the spiritualistic reading of Bergson. This spiritualistic reading serves as the foundation for two other misinterpretations of Bergson (specifically, naive realism and a form of correlationism). Consequently, demonstrating the falsity of the spiritualistic reading effectively separates Bergsonian duration from all three erroneous readings.

Keywords

Bergson

Duration

Spiritualism

Converted Predication

Expression

Subjects

philosophy

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