Q0195
“For a conscious being, to exist is to change, to change is…” — Henri Bergson (Creative Evolution, Ch. 1 (1907))
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Creative Evolution, Ch. 1 (1907). Theme: existence.
English
For a conscious being, to exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Creative Evolution, Ch. 1 (1907) and files it under Process Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson (1859–1941), Nobel laureate in Literature (1927), developed a philosophy of duration, memory, and creative evolution opposing purely spatialized time.
Interpretation
Bergson's claim is that a living thing is not a thing that changes but a change that persists, so duration is not a container the organism occupies but what it is made of. His argument in Creative Evolution is against treating life as a mechanism, which he thinks misses that the whole and its history are inseparable. Mature here means continuing to elaborate rather than arriving. The formulation makes change the substance rather than an attribute.
Why it matters
It reframes stability: what persists in a person or an institution is not what stays the same but what keeps developing without breaking.
Concepts in this quote
- Existence
- Existence appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat existence as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Henri Bergson. (n.d.). For a conscious being, to exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0195
MLA: Henri Bergson. “For a conscious being, to exist is to….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0195.
Chicago: Henri Bergson. “For a conscious being, to exist is to….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0195.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “For a conscious being, to exist is to…”?
The passage is attributed to Henri Bergson, Creative Evolution, Ch. 1 (1907). The archive attributes this English wording to Creative Evolution, Ch. 1 (1907) and files it under Process Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Henri Bergson mean by existence?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Søren Kierkegaard and Henri Bergson), existence is framed through Existentialism and Process Philosophy. Some passages define existence; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through existence.