Mathilde Tahar: Du finalisme en biologie. Bergson et la théorie de l’évolution, Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 2024, 405 pp., ISBN: 978-2-13-085994-9

Abstract Mathilde Tahar’s Du finalisme en biologie. Bergson et la théorie de l’évolution offers a bold reinterpretation of Henri Bergson’s Creative Evolution (1907) in light of contemporary biology. She reconstructs Bergson’s critique of Darwinism, mutationism, orthogenesis, and neo-Lamarckism, arguing that his Élan vital is neither a metaphysical force nor teleological, but a heuristic tool for understanding evolutionary regularities. The book follows a three-stage structure: a historical reconstruction of Bergson’s evolutionary thought, an engagement with modern genetics and the synthetic theory of evolution, and a vision for a future biology that embraces historicity. Tahar advances three key ideas: (a) organisms are agents, (b) evolution follows regularities rather than strict laws, and (c) evolutionary constraints shape norms beyond natural selection. She introduces the metaphor of evolution as a spinning top moving in a spiral, offering a dynamic model of biological development. The book also establishes systematic connections between Creative Evolution and Bergson’s broader philosophical corpus, including his works on time, memory, and society. With its interdisciplinary approach and philosophical depth, Tahar’s study exemplifies how philosophy can not only engage with but also contribute to contemporary scientific debates. It is an essential reading for philosophers and biologists alike.