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ABSTRACT: Bergson's engagement with evolutionary theory was remarkably up to date with the science of his time. One century later, the scientific and social landscape is undoubtedly quite different, but some of his insights remain of critical importance for the present. This paper aims at discussing three related aspects of Bergson's philosophy of evolution and their relevance for contemporary debates: first, the stark distinction between the affirmation of the reality of change and becoming, on the one hand, and any notion of progress on the other; second, the insistence on the intimate interplay between forms of knowledge and forms of life; third, his idea that machines and organisms, technology and biology, are not separate domains but, rather, stem from and answer to the same problems and needs that living beings express. Such a Bergsonian framework may prove very helpful in reassessing the implicit assumptions of several contemporary debates on the ethical and political stakes of evolution, biosciences, and technologies, as well as the increasingly problematic boundary between "biology" and "culture."
1. INTRODUCTION
Henri Bergson is certainly not a feminist philosopher: his remarks on women are sparse and as conservative and uninteresting as you can expect from any traditional male thinker of his time. His commitment to the improvement of the condition of women, if it exists, has nothing of the passion and sense of urgency of, say, John Stuart Mill. He is, however, one of the most important philosophers of evolution: few have engaged with evolutionary theory as closely as Bergson did, and, more importantly, some of his insights have lost none of their pertinence in spite of the major changes and breakthroughs undergone by the life sciences since the publication in 1907 of Creative Evolution. I further believe that some of these ideas may prove useful for contemporary debates in feminist theory where questions raised by the biosciences and biotechnologies play a prominent role. In what follows, I will discuss the aspects of Bergson's philosophy of evolution that are, in my view, most significant for the present and try to make the case for a possible encounter with feminist stakes.
2. ALL IS NOT GIVEN
Bergson's interest in evolution is directed by his ongoing effort to think the nature of time. Time...