LIFE AS HESITATION HENRI BERGSON AND THE SUSPENSION OF TIME

Although Henri Bergson is most commonly associated with the notions of flow and continuity, the experience of hesitation plays an important role in his philosophical system. In order to be creative and to produce change, life needs to suspend the flow of everyday life. Bergson connects this moment of suspension to the experience of hesitation. During this moment we become attentive of the fact that the future is not completely determined by the past, but can be developed in different possible directions. This awareness not only enables us to experience the potential that is ingrained in life, but also paves the path for two movements that play a crucial role in his philosophical system: imagination, which uses the moment of indeterminacy to create something new, and intuition, which pushes indeterminacy further and allows us to experience life in all its (rhythmic) complexity.