Abstract
In her seminal work La formation de l'homme (The Formation of Man), which sums up the entirety of her work, Montessori referred to the concept of the "élan vital" as the "master" of her pedagogy. It can therefore be seen as the central point around which his critique of traditional pedagogy and the development of his own method are organised. The question guiding this study of Montessori and Bergson is: how does the notion of 'élan vital', borrowed from the field of philosophy, find a practical application in the field of new education? Through this transfer, another possible form of Bergson's legacy emerges.