7. Contagion and Epidemics in Twentieth-Century Thought: A Hypothesis about Bergson

In the twentieth century, as in previous centuries, there was also much talk, at various levels and in the most diverse cultural fields, of epidemics and, more generally, of contagion. After some references to authors and works dealing with epidemics and contagion in literary, philosophical, and human sciences fields, the essay focuses specifically on the theme of contagion and on one of the greatest thinkers of the early twentieth century, Henri Bergson, in whose works this theme is very present, albeit in a very peculiar form. Bergson often resorts to terms and concepts such as those of influence, diffusion, propagation, and transmission, when dealing with: psychological and gnoseological issues, the central theme of the evolution of life, and anthropological, ethical, and religious themes. In conclusion, it is hypothesized that in Bergson there is not simply a metaphorical use of the idea of contagion, but the presence of an original theoretical model of interpretation of reality consisting of a dynamic of interaction and transfer, which constitutes a conceptual structure characteristic of his thought.