PHILOSOPHY AND THE BOUNDARIES OF MEANING: THE QUESTION OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF REALITY IN BERGSON

Abstract

The aim of this article is to consider Bergson’s theory of language as a resource of his intuitive method. Although he never explicitly elaborated a philosophy of language, his reflections on how words intertwine with our thoughts and the way we know reality permeate various moments of his work, to the point where he defines the task of Metaphysics (i.e. Philosophy) as an attempt to go beyond symbols. Despite the exegetical effort to be developed here to present Bergson’s conception of language and its centrality to the coherence of his philosophy, the pretension is above all systematic in its counterpoint with the theses of the so-called linguistic turn. Thus, by asking what Bergson’s theory of language tells us about knowledge of reality and, consequently, about the nature of philosophy itself, I will also be questioning the status of the critique of language in contemporary philosophy. My aim is finally to show that the discussion about philosophy and the boundaries of language is less a theoretical question than a fundamental decision about the search for wisdom.

Keywords: Wisdom. Intuition. Philosophy of Language. Linguistic Turn. Henri Bergson.