A New Philosophy — Background and Themes

Intelligence and Its Limits

Le Roy confronts a fundamental objection: how can we go beyond intelligence except by intelligence itself? He compares the situation to being inside a balloon incapable of rising above the atmosphere. The answer, he argues, lies in recognizing that the atmosphere's limits are not fixed. Intelligence, when it accepts the risk of taking a leap into the phosphorescent fluid that bathes it—a fluid from which it originally broke off—can be lost only momentarily before reappearing greater and stronger. This leap is not irrational; it is guided by action, which verifies ideas through practical demonstration and enduring maturation. Le Roy thus defends Bergson against charges of irrationalism by insisting that intelligence itself pronounces the final verdict, but only after it has been enlarged and transformed by the action it has lived.

Defending Against Charges of Non-Morality

The objection that Bergson's philosophy is non-moral or too coldly lucid is addressed directly. Le Roy notes the contradiction in critics simultaneously calling the new philosophy romantic—with its predilection for feeling and vital intensity—and accusing it of being indifferent to the universal drama of life. He points out that Bergson's system is not yet presented as finished; its author manifests a plain desire to classify problems and proceeds with a sense of timing. Le Roy suggests that future works may treat the problem of human destiny, and even in the completed work one can descry attempts to bring this future within ken. He emphasizes that universal evolution, though creative, is not quixotic or anarchist; it forms a sequence with direction, not due to a preconceived goal but to an inherent becoming.

The Method of Intuition and the Return to Reality

Le Roy describes the philosopher's peculiar task as reabsorbing intelligence in instinct, or reinstating instinct in intelligence, in order to win back the initial resources that intelligence had to sacrifice. This is what he calls a return to the primitive, the immediate, to reality and life—the meaning of intuition. The difficulty of this task is acknowledged, but Le Roy argues that it is no more impossible than acquiring a new habit or life growing beyond itself. He contrasts good sense, which is the sense of reality, with common-sense. The book itself applies Bergson's own method, as prescribed in a 1911 article, which Le Roy considers the only fully exact method. He waives technical discussions and comparisons with older philosophies, aiming instead to present the simple unity of productive intuition.

Le Roy's preface reveals his intent to assist in removing faulty interpretations of Bergson's position, a goal he pursues by focusing on the general trend of the movement rather than minute details. Readers approaching Bergson through this guide should note that Le Roy writes as an independent thinker, not a pupil, and that his work is explicitly preliminary. The book's structure—original articles plus added notes—reflects its dual nature as both a sketch and a more detailed explanation. For those seeking initiation, Le Roy's emphasis on action and experience as verifiers offers a practical entry point into Bergson's thought.

Reading Le Roy’s account of Bergson’s intuition, I recalled sitting under a late-autumn tree, feeling time as a current rather than a line. That same quiet certainty returned with Ontology, or the Theory of Being — Background and Themes, where being, too, seemed less a fixed thing and more a slow, breathing act. Both books left me listening inward, unhurried.