Life as the fruit of creation or reality in itself? Philosophical perspective of Henri Bergson and Michael Henry

Abstract

There is a debate taking place nowadays concerning life, its protection, its value and its quality; such discussion often happens in the context of the latest research and discoveries of neurosciences or the developments of biotechnologies. All this  creates a situation when we must ask anew about what life is, what its ontic status is, what the relation between matter and life is; we must further ask about the essence and nature of man and how the experience of life relates to the experience of God. This article aims at comparative analysis of two French thinkers, Henri Bergson (1859-1941) and Michael Henry (1922-2002) as they present important yet different takes which may be useful when contemplating the essence of life, as well as  understanding man and his relation with God.