Bergson and the unification of the sciences

Louis De Broglie and M. Capek have described some interesting similarities between the philosophical ideas of Henri Bergson and the profound conceptual changes introduced into physics by quantum theory and the theory of relativity. These similarities are neither identities nor direct causal links, and hence physicists are likely to regard them as mere curiosities having no import for the development of science. However, another view is possible: if Bergson's thinking presaged, at least in spirit, these two revolutionary advances in physics then his intuitions may accord sufficiently with nature to provide useful guidance in the approach to other deep problems in science. Pursuing this idea I shall indicate here how Bergson's intuitions suggest a possible approach to perhaps the fundamental problem of contemporary science, namely the problem of constructing an overarching theoretical framework for unifying the various branches of science from psychology through biology to physics. 19 refs