102 - [PHILOSOPHY] - Henri BERGSON

[PHILOSOPHY] - Henri BERGSON Spiritual Energy: Essays and Lectures Paris, Librairie Félix Alcan, 1919 In-8°. Full olive morocco bound by Weckesser and Sons. Spine with 5 raised bands, author, title, place, and year of publication in gold. Wide gold roulette on the endpapers. Gold-edged pages. Cover preserved. Covers severely damaged (significant wear, split joints, leather peeling, worn caps, etc.; requires complete restoration). Interior is nevertheless in very fresh condition, and the binding is sturdy. First edition (no edition was printed on high-quality paper) enhanced by a precious autographed dedication by the author to Mademoiselle Jacqueline Baumann (later Madame Errera) on the half-title page. Published one year after he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, this seminal work brings together seven major studies and lectures delivered by Henri Bergson (1859–1941) between 1901 and 1913. In it, the philosopher synthesizes the central concepts of his thought (the concept of duration, the élan vital, intuition) while exploring the subtle relationships between consciousness and life. Through seminal texts such as “The Soul and the Body” and “The Dream,” Bergson challenges the reductionist materialism of his time, demonstrating that mental activity far exceeds brain activity. References: Talvart and Place, Bibliography of Modern Authors, vol. II, p. 114 Provenance: from the Errera family library