The Collège de France was a perfect match for Henri Bergson's personality and aspirations, where he taught two lectures a week  on Friday and Saturday afternoons. The first lecture is devoted to a philosophical problem, while the second comments on the theories of philosophers such as Herbert Spencer, George Berkeley and Baruch Spinoza.

His influence at the Collège de France, like his philosophy, is marked by his openness to emerging disciplines and daring research. He was particularly active in the fields of psychology and sociology, whose two most eminent representatives were former classmates from the École normale supérieure. Shortly after his arrival at the Collège de France, he was instrumental in the election of Pierre Janet to the chair of experimental and comparative psychology. In 1905, he made another unsuccessful attempt to bring an emerging discipline to the Collège de France, proposing to transform the chair of Greek and Latin philosophy into a chair of sociology, probably with Émile Durkheim in mind. The success of his teaching, recognized for the novelty and richness of his thought, was such that the large numbers of listeners who flocked to his lectures forced many of them to listen in at the windows of the room where Bergson taught. The year 1914, in particular, saw an increase in the number of incidents due to the lack of seats. Petitions and letters to the administrator followed one another. It was therefore decided to reserve seats for students first, which provoked the discontent of other members of the public. From the 1914-1915 academic year onwards, perhaps because of the excesses of this craze, Bergson had himself substituted until 1921, when he was admitted to the honorary professorship. He was succeeded by his deputy, Édouard Le Roy.