HPhil Seminar: October 16, 2025
The HPhil (History of Philosophy) Research Group of the Centre of Philosophy of the University of Lisbon announces the 2025/26 edition of its permanent seminar on the history of philosophy, devoted to the presentation of conferences by renowned specialists while also creating opportunities to emerging scholars, aiming to promote advanced studies in groundbreaking debates and the permanent training of its academic community.
In this session of the seminar, Victoria Trumbull (Oxford University) will present a paper, entitled “Two Perspectives on Metaphysics: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Henri Bergson”. (abstract below)
The session will take place on October 16, 2025 at 5 p.m., in the Room 201.J (Room Mattos Romão, Department of Philosophy). Admission is free
Abstract
Henri-Louis Bergson (1859–1941) was the most famous philosopher of his generation. Despite having fallen out of popularity in the latter half of the 20th century, the study of Bergson and his philosophy has recently received renewed interest among philosophers and academics in the English-speaking world. In this lecture, I will present an outline of Bergson’s philosophy and its significance in the development of the history of philosophy more generally. I argue that there are two distinct perspectives on metaphysics: the ‘static perspective’ and the ‘dynamic perspective’. Bergson is of the latter type; and this lineage connects him to Ravaisson, Maine de Biran, Schelling, Pascal, Augustine, Porphyry, Plato, and Plotinus. I will discuss Bergson’s three main philosophical positions: (1) the defence of the reality of the mind or soul against materialist hypotheses; (2) his theory of duration, arguably his most significant contribution to philosophy; and (3) his theory of the creative will or élan which gives birth to nature. I will moreover outline Bergson’s ‘personalism’ and ‘spiritualism’ in order to show how his philosophy diverges from earlier incarnations of spiritualism which deprived the human mind of its role within the world of time, matter, and history
This activity is funded by Portuguese national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., within the project UID/00310/2025, Centro de Filosofia da Universidade de Lisboa (https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/00310/2025)
