An Introduction to Metaphysics

An Introduction to Metaphysics (Introduction à la Métaphysique) is a 1903 essay by Henri Bergson (published in Revue de métaphysique et de morale) that explores the concept of reality. For Bergson, reality occurs not in a series of discrete states but as a process similar to that described by process philosophy or the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. Reality is fluid and cannot be completely understood through reductionistic analysis, which he said “implies that we go around an object”, gaining knowledge from various perspectives which are relative. Instead, reality can be grasped absolutely only through intuition, which Bergson expressed as “entering into” the object.