Intuition of the Instant

Appearing in English for the first time, Intuition of the InstantBachelards first metaphysical meditation on time and its moral implicationswas written in 1932 in the wake of Husserls lectures on streaming time-consciousness, Heideggers Being and Time, and Henri Bergsons philosophy of the lan vital. A culmination of Bachelards earlier studies in scientific epistemology, this work builds the epistemic framework that would lead theorists of all stripes to advance knowledge by breaking with accepted modes of thought. Intuition of the Instant sows the seeds of Bachelards future poetics, most notably in the essay Poetic Instant and Metaphysical Instant (1939)included in this volume, along with an excerpt from Jean Lescures lecture Introduction to Bachelards Poetics (1966). Eileen Rizo-Patrons translation offers a key to Bachelards subsequent works on science, time, and imagination, which remain epistemological touchstones.