In three lectures he delivered at award ceremonies for students while he was still teaching philosophy in high schools in the French provinces and Paris, Bergson examines the concept of gentleness in its various expressions concerning its social and political significance (first lecture), the ever-increasing specialization in the sciences and the dangers arising from it (second lecture), and prudence as the virtue of action, the understanding of life, and the deeper source of thought and will (third lecture).

The common thread that connects his profound analyses of these themes is the crucial question of the education of humanity as a citizen of an open and tolerant society, as well as the particular and significant contribution of classical education, both ancient and modern, in this context.

These three early texts by the great French philosopher, which, despite their different subjects, are thematically linked and complement each other, are of particular interest from several perspectives. They offer original analyses of the various themes they examine; they pose questions and insights that, being very characteristic of Bergson's thought, are further developed, albeit sometimes in a different form, in the philosopher's major works; finally, they delve deeply into issues that have lost none of their significance and relevance since then.