Tension
Tension
Since normal mental life oscillates between two extremesa plane of action in which sensori-motor functions occur, and a plane of dream, in which we live our imaginative life, of which memory is a major part, there are as many corresponding intermediate planes as there are degrees of ‘attention to life’, adaptation to reality. The mind has a power sui generis to produce contractions and expansions of itself. Calling attention to the need of distinguishing various heights of tension or ‘tones’ in psychic life, Bergson interprets the life of the universe and the life of human personality in terms of tension. — H.H.