Document Type : Research Paper
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Abstract
Henry Bergson, the French philosopher, is one of pioneers of though stream which in the course of modern positivist views, renewed the role and authenticity of metaphysical, ethical and religious ideas. By adopting the intuitive epistemic method instead of experimental and positivistic method of modern science, he gave a central role to these ideas. He considered any kind of analytic view to the objects of knowledge as ignoring their essential interconnections and so inversion of their nature. According to Bergson, the world and all of its phenomena are temporal and dynamic. He means by time a kind of continuity and sequence of correlating phenomena and calls it "during." In his point of view, understanding of this essential nature is only possible by intuitive method and immediate connection to the world and its phenomena. The most sensible instance of this understanding is the conscience which we have from our inner states. Bergson uses his epistemological point of view in explaining the relation of mind and body. He accepts the duality of mind and body and considers the analysis of perceptual behavior as an explanation of their relation. According to him, knowledge has two aspects: sensitive impressions and memory which joint in the point of "image-souvenir." This point converts sensitive impression to the epistemic stream. However, it seems that Bergson's analysis has no substantive difference from Descartes' pineal gland and in effect, does not solve the problem of duality of mind and body and their relation to each other, since he considers the duality of mind and body as ontological and not epistemological as well.
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