Q0475
“The universe… is a machine for the making of gods.” — Henri Bergson (The Two Sources of Morality and…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Two Sources of Morality and Religion. Theme: philosophy.
English
The universe… is a machine for the making of gods.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Two Sources of Morality and Religion 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 image inverts the usual account of where religion comes from. He argues that the universe, left to the intelligence's representations, would produce beings paralysed by the foresight of death, so nature supplies what he calls a defensive reaction: the fabrication of gods and the belief in survival. The universe is a machine for making gods in the sense that the conditions of life generate religion. The claim is explanatory rather than reverent or dismissive.
Why it matters
It raises the question of function rather than truth: whatever else religion is, on this account it is doing something that a creature aware of death requires.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Henri Bergson. (n.d.). The universe… is a machine for the making of gods. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0475
MLA: Henri Bergson. “The universe… is a machine for the making….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0475.
Chicago: Henri Bergson. “The universe… is a machine for the making….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0475.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “The universe… is a machine for the making…”?
The passage is attributed to Henri Bergson, The Two Sources of Morality and Religion. The archive attributes this English wording to The Two Sources of Morality and Religion 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 philosophy?
This passage is indexed under . Those labels identify the concepts it can illuminate; they do not replace the argument surrounding it in The Two Sources of Morality and Religion.