METAPHYSICS OF FREEDOM AND CREATIVITY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF HENRI BERGSON

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the analysis of the key aspects of the metaphysics of the French philosopher Henri Bergson, particularly his views on freedom and creativity as fundamental characteristics of being. At the core of the study are the concepts of duration and the vital impulse (élan vital), which Bergson opposes to mechanistic determinism. The article explores how Bergson understands freedom not as a choice between fixed possibilities, but as a creative act that generates new realities. Special attention is given to the role of intuition as a method for understanding the deep processes of reality and the significance of life’s creative evolution.
Bergson’s metaphysics provides answers to classical questions about the nature of reality, time, and freedom, yet it differs from traditional approaches to these problems. The philosopher challenges the mechanistic view of the world, where all events and processes can be reduced to chains of cause and effect. At the same time, Bergson seeks to conceptualize the world as dynamic and creative, where freedom is manifested not in the selection of predetermined paths but in the creation of new forms of existence. This is a radical approach that calls for a rethinking of concepts such as evolution, freedom, and the very process of becoming.
The issue of freedom in Bergson’s metaphysics is closely tied to his critique of determinism. Bergson argues that true freedom cannot be explained within the framework of rationality or mechanistic theories, which reduce all events to causal relationships. For Bergson, freedom lies in the capacity to create something new, unique, and unpredictable. It is in this creativity that genuine freedom is expressed, manifesting itself in human life.
Creativity in Bergson’s philosophy is also closely connected with his concept of the vital impulse (élan vital) – a dynamic force that permeates all of nature and drives evolution. For Bergson, evolution is not merely a mechanical process of adaptation but a creative act in which life continually strives toward the new, transcending material limitations. This «vital impulse» is an expression of the metaphysical will to creativity, which opposes the rigidity and fixity of being.
Thus, the article highlights Bergson’s unique approach to the metaphysical questions of freedom and creativity, demonstrating how his ideas challenge classical philosophical concepts and offer a new vision of life as a continuous process of creation and becoming.