Comme un feu toujours vivant. La vie comme matière de la pensée chez Gaston Bachelard

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the role that the fire element plays in Bachelard’s philosophy. The central hypothesis that we intend to explore is that the reflection that Bachelard develops on the images of fire is key to read his philosophy as a whole. This importance of the fire element is reinforced by its identification with life and, thus, it constitutes what we propose to identify as “matter of thought”. Such hypothesis can make a significant contribution to the debate on Bachelardian materialism.

Keywords: Fire, Life, Matter, Imagination, Science.