In Bergson’s Matter and Memory the philosopher introduces two different operative modes of image perception: one of subjective idealism, the other of materialistic realism. The realist, argues Bergson, relies mainly on objective knowledge of a “universe” of images that exist in and of themselves, beholden only to the laws of nature and science. The idealist, on the other hand, must come to terms with the fact that they perceive this “universe” of images through their own subjective lens. Neither one of these modes of image perception are privileged. In between their respective logics of order, the images exist in a middle ground, which is not fixed, but broadened and constricted by the tolerance of the perceiver.
