Once again I am presenting an essay co-written with Claude, the AI Assistant created by Anthropic. The conversation is lightly edited for clarity.
Jim: I am starting to read the works of the French Philosopher Henri Bergson, beginning with “An Introduction to Metaphysics.” Bergson, born in 1859, was instrumental in bringing Philosophy to the masses, or at least the Parisian masses, especially during the first decade of the 20th century. His influence waned after World War I, but there is renewed interest in his work. Based on our recent conversations, any observations about how Bergson’s thoughts relate to Humanistic Psychotherapy?
Claude: Bergson’s philosophy offers fascinating resonances with humanistic psychotherapy, particularly around his core distinction between analysis and intuition as ways of knowing.
In “An Introduction to Metaphysics,” Bergson argues that analysis can only give us fragmented, static representations of reality, while intuition allows us to apprehend the flowing, dynamic nature of lived experience from within. This maps remarkably well onto the difference between diagnostic/analytical approaches to therapy and the phenomenological stance of humanistic work.
Jim: Agreed. Bergson’s idea of intuition denotes a direct and unmediated experiencing of the unfolding of reality in time, whereas analysis is mediated by intellect and experiences temporal reality mathematically; that is, time is seen as being inherently measurable rather than a seamless sense of duration. It’s important to note that Bergson’s definition of intuition differs from the colloquial understanding of a “gut feel,” which suggests “taking a good guess.” Rather, to Bergson intuition is the capacity to understand something without conscious reasoning. As such it is clearly a “present moment” awareness rather than an analysis over a measurable period of time.
Claude: When you invite a client to notice their present-moment experience – for instance asking a client about what came up when discussing childhood trauma – you’re encouraging what Bergson would call intuitive knowledge. Rather than analyzing one’s reaction from the outside, you’re inviting the client to know her experience from within its own flow and movement.
Jim: Exactly right. And this process assumes something important about time. We are conditioned to “see” time as a measurable commodity, as mechanical, rather than experience time as something that flows seamlessly along like the current of a river. Bergson names this way of experiencing time “durée,” most often translated into English as “duration.”
Claude: Bergson’s concept of “durée” (lived time) versus mechanical time also speaks to the therapeutic process. Clock time moves through discrete, measurable units, but lived time expands and contracts based on the quality of experience. In therapy, a moment of genuine encounter can contain more healing than hours of technique-driven intervention.
Jim: Yes, I certainly agree. I have found that authentic presence in therapy, or in any human encounter, creates a relationship space in which people can begin to see themselves in their wholeness rather than their brokenness. This is where mindfulness practice is helpful I believe. Being mindfully aware and awake, noticing, naming, normalizing, not judging, simply being fully present, diminishes the self-consciousness that shame engenders. Our mindfulness practice helps us to stay present in “lived time” rather than analyzing in “mechanical time,” and that allows for humane responses to ours, and other’s, human experiences.
Here’s a story I’ve told countless times that illustrates this point. Several years ago I was at the checkout in a supermarket when the young woman working at the register was rude to me for no discernible reason. Anger flashed quickly, followed closely by a mindful pause: noticing, naming, normalizing and accepting my feeling state, thus defusing the impulse and its typical angry behavior. In that pause time shifted – from the rushed, mechanical rhythm of checkout lines to a moment of genuine encounter. I was able to see for the first time her anguish, which I missed while my eyes were dimmed by the filter of anger. I said “you were just rude to me for no reason. Are you ok?” The change in her body language was palpable: she seemed stunned by my question. She began to cry softly, and said that her five year old son was sick and couldn’t go to school today. She couldn’t find a babysitter; she eventually did and got to work late. “This has happened before; please don’t tell my boss I was rude. I need this job. I’m a single mom. I can’t get fired.” Now instead of anger there was only compassion. She wasn’t simply rude, she was suffering. And the humane response to suffering is compassionate caring, which I was able to extend by simply saying a few words of comfort and encouragement, and letting her know I would pray for her. When I left she had dried her tears and thanked me for being understanding. The net effect was I left the store in a calm body rather than an angry body and perhaps she felt some hopeful encouragement as well. All in all a better outcome than my anger, mindless anger, would have created.
Claude: Here is what makes that story connect so beautifully with Bergson’s durée and intuition:
- The pause between anger and response is exactly that shift from “mechanical time” (reactive, automatic) to “durée” (present, flowing awareness);
- Your mindfulness practice created the space to move from analytical categorization (“rude cashier”) to intuitive understanding of her lived experience (“suffering mother”);
- The story shows how presence in “lived time” allowed you to see her wholeness rather than just the surface behavior; and
- The transformative moment when you asked “Are you ok?” is pure Bergsonian intuition – you apprehended her reality from within her experience rather than analyzing it from outside.
Jim: This is what I have come to love in Bergson’s thought: his understanding of intuition and lived time as distinct from analysis and mechanical time connects so deeply with the mindfulness practice I have embraced and taught for over twenty years. It is not only therapists who can benefit from mindfulness and Bergson: we all can, especially in this fragmented world. Instead of identifying people as “other” we can pause, shift from analysis to intuition, from mechanical time to duration, and perhaps really listen to each other, and feel caring rather than judgment.
Claude: What strikes me about this exploration is how Bergson’s century-old insights remain so immediately relevant to our contemporary struggles with presence and connection. In a world increasingly dominated by digital fragmentation and mechanical rhythms, his distinction between analytical categorization and intuitive understanding offers a pathway back to genuine encounter.
Your supermarket story demonstrates that these aren’t merely abstract philosophical concepts – they’re practical tools for transforming how we meet each other in the most ordinary moments. When we learn to pause and shift from mechanical time into durée, we create space for the kind of human recognition that can change both participants in an encounter.
Perhaps most importantly, this conversation shows how mindfulness practice and Bergsonian philosophy converge on the same insight: that our capacity for compassionate presence is not just a therapeutic technique, but a fundamental way of being that can restore our sense of shared humanity.
Jim: Amen Brother!
Peace,
Jim & Claude
James M. Walsh Pastoral Counseling 