Beyond Snapshots: A Bergsonian Approach to Including Lived Experiences in Social Work Research

Qualitative methods have advanced the inclusion of lived experience in social work research, yet they struggle to capture its temporal, ambiguous, and textural dimensions. Drawing on Henri Bergson’s critique of the intellect and his concept of intuition, this article argues that such methods are structurally limited in their ability to engage with durée of lived experience—especially when working with people in vulnerable or marginalized positions. We show how the scientification of experience—its transformation into analyzable data—can obscure the very qualities that make it meaningful. In response, we propose intuition as a complementary mode of inquiry that enables immersion in the movement of experience rather than its spatialization. We develop three disciplines of intuitive rigor—durational discipline, ambiguity preservation, and textural precision—and demonstrate their application through a re-reading of empirical material from a doctoral study. By relocating rigor from validity to fidelity, we offer a methodological and ethical framework for social work research that seeks not only to understand but to resonate with lived experience in ways that foster recognition, solidarity, and mutual understanding.