What do you think?
Rate this book
Human Energy
English, French (translation)
- GenresPhilosophyReligion
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
4 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
394 books500 followersPierre Teilhard de Chardin was a visionary French Jesuit, paleontologist, biologist, and philosopher, who spent the bulk of his life trying to integrate religious experience with natural science, most specifically Christian theology with theories of evolution. In this endeavor he became enthralled with the possibilities for humankind, which he saw as heading for an exciting convergence of systems, an "Omega point" where the coalescence of consciousness will lead us to a new state of peace and planetary unity. Long before ecology was fashionable, he saw this unity as being based intrinsically upon the spirit of the Earth. Studied in England. Traveled to numerous countries, including China, as missionary.
Died in New York City on Easter 1955
Died in New York City on Easter 1955
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 9, 2025
De Chardin essentially recycles Vedantic philosophy for a western audience, calls it his own, and blends it with an argument for a God with a personality/Christianity.
His notion of matter as “spirit-matter” (already presented as the substance of spirit as it exists) could easily be argued to be Pantheism if we want to strip away the fact that he is Catholic and includes sophistry about God as personal, blah, blah, blah. He argues that “no other substance but [spirit-matter] could produce the human molecule”(58).
His clear reasoning from a monistic idealism (Advaita Vedanta) rears its head most fully when he begins to discuss the philosophical and scientific difficulty of explaining how all the matter in the universe broke from the divine source, the “All” as he calls it, to become the many, diverse things we find in existence; “Whence arises the break-up into fragmentary consciousness of a reality which…seemed to us so powerfully homogenous in its totality?” (100). In essence, why do separate, individual consciousnesses exist when in the beginning of time, all things were blended into the Plotinian “One” or Vedantic Brahman?
Of course, this is answered according to his own foray into the movement/evolution of human consciousness and the love of God, but this question is as old—and has been dealt with in Hindu philosophy probably before this writing—as the Brahma Sutra circa 500-200 BCE. It has been the subject of monistic Hindus ever since and I think they may do a better job of analyzing this problem than our unnecessary jargon-creating Pierre.
I did enjoy his understanding of the effervescent manifestation of consciousness as it dovetailed with Advaitin beliefs or philosophical anthropology, and so included a few of my favorite quotes here to either entice you to read this or skip this one entirely:
“…man ceases to be a spark fallen by chance on earth and coming from another place. He is the flame of a general fermentation of the universe which breaks out suddenly on the earth” (23).
“The birth and progress of the idea of God on earth are intimately bound up with the phenomenon of hominization” (43). (The more human we become, the more we conceive of a Higher Power, essentially. This can be taken spiritually but also scientifically utilizing the Cognitive Science of Religion and evolution for theoretical explanation. I liked this.)
“How will the spiritual evolution of our planet end…? Perhaps…in a psychic rather than sidereal turning about—possibly like a death—which will…be a liberation from the material plane of history and elevation in God” (47). Whoah, be careful here Meister Eckhart! ;)
“…spirit is neither super-imposed nor accessory to the cosmos, but…it quite simply represents the higher state assumed in and around us by the primal and undefinable thing we call…’the stuff of the universe’…Spirit is neither a meta- nor an epi-phenomenon; it is the phenomenon”(94).
Well, there you go. Enjoy or don’t. You’ve been warned and given a preview.
His notion of matter as “spirit-matter” (already presented as the substance of spirit as it exists) could easily be argued to be Pantheism if we want to strip away the fact that he is Catholic and includes sophistry about God as personal, blah, blah, blah. He argues that “no other substance but [spirit-matter] could produce the human molecule”(58).
His clear reasoning from a monistic idealism (Advaita Vedanta) rears its head most fully when he begins to discuss the philosophical and scientific difficulty of explaining how all the matter in the universe broke from the divine source, the “All” as he calls it, to become the many, diverse things we find in existence; “Whence arises the break-up into fragmentary consciousness of a reality which…seemed to us so powerfully homogenous in its totality?” (100). In essence, why do separate, individual consciousnesses exist when in the beginning of time, all things were blended into the Plotinian “One” or Vedantic Brahman?
Of course, this is answered according to his own foray into the movement/evolution of human consciousness and the love of God, but this question is as old—and has been dealt with in Hindu philosophy probably before this writing—as the Brahma Sutra circa 500-200 BCE. It has been the subject of monistic Hindus ever since and I think they may do a better job of analyzing this problem than our unnecessary jargon-creating Pierre.
I did enjoy his understanding of the effervescent manifestation of consciousness as it dovetailed with Advaitin beliefs or philosophical anthropology, and so included a few of my favorite quotes here to either entice you to read this or skip this one entirely:
“…man ceases to be a spark fallen by chance on earth and coming from another place. He is the flame of a general fermentation of the universe which breaks out suddenly on the earth” (23).
“The birth and progress of the idea of God on earth are intimately bound up with the phenomenon of hominization” (43). (The more human we become, the more we conceive of a Higher Power, essentially. This can be taken spiritually but also scientifically utilizing the Cognitive Science of Religion and evolution for theoretical explanation. I liked this.)
“How will the spiritual evolution of our planet end…? Perhaps…in a psychic rather than sidereal turning about—possibly like a death—which will…be a liberation from the material plane of history and elevation in God” (47). Whoah, be careful here Meister Eckhart! ;)
“…spirit is neither super-imposed nor accessory to the cosmos, but…it quite simply represents the higher state assumed in and around us by the primal and undefinable thing we call…’the stuff of the universe’…Spirit is neither a meta- nor an epi-phenomenon; it is the phenomenon”(94).
Well, there you go. Enjoy or don’t. You’ve been warned and given a preview.
July 30, 2019
FRANÇAIS: Cet fut le premier livre de Teilhard que j'ai lu, il y a un demi-siècle. Je l'ai déjà lu quatre fois. Le livre m'a tellement plu que j'ai commencé à lire tout ce de Teilhard qui a été publié, à l'exception de ses lettres du temps de guerre. L'un de ses livres, "Le Milieu Divin", est devenu l'un de mes 10 livres préférés de tous les temps.
Dans cette relecture, j’ai refait les mêmes étapes quand je l’ai lu pour la première fois. Le problème avec Teilhard est qu’il n’est pas expliqué assez clairement, il est donc facile de le comprendre mal. Cela a conduit à deux interprétations antagonistes de son travail. Selon l'un d'eux, Dieu-Oméga serait le résultat final du processus évolutif dont la Terre est l'un des principaux exemples (du moins, de notre point de vue). Selon l’autre, Dieu-Alpha-et-Oméga est l’origine et la fin de tout le processus évolutif (dans son double rôle de Créateur et de Rédempteur).
La seconde interprétation est parfaitement compatible avec le christianisme. La première, préférée des matérialistes, est ce que j'appelle l'antichrist. Pour vérifier que la deuxième interprétation est celle de Teilhard, il suffit de lire toute son oeuvre, notamment "Le Milieu Divin".
L'énergie humaine est le nom que Teilhard donne à "l'amour", compris dans un sens plus large de ce qui est généralement considéré, car en plus de sa version humaine, il comprend de nombreuses autres formes, avant et après le moment actuel de l'évolution. Parfois, il peut sembler que certaines de ces extensions sont abusives, mais il est nécessaire d'interpréter cette vision à la lumière de la dualité primordiale esprit-matière qui constitue la base des idées de Teilhard.
ESPAÑOL: Este fue el primer libro de Teilhard que leí, hace medio siglo, y con esta ya lo he leído cuatro veces. El libro me gustó tanto que procedí a leer todo lo que se ha publicado de Teilhard, excepto sus cartas en tiempo de guerra. Uno de sus libros, "Le Milieu Divin", se convirtió en uno de mis 10 libros favoritos de todos los tiempos.
En esta relectura he vuelto a pasar por las mismas etapas que al leerlo por primera vez. El problema con Teilhard es que no se explica con suficiente claridad, por lo que es fácil entenderle mal. Esto ha dado lugar a dos interpretaciones antagónicas de su obra. Según una, Dios-Omega será el resultado final del proceso evolutivo del que la Tierra es uno de los principales ejemplos (al menos, desde nuestro punto de vista). Según la otra, Dios-Alfa-y-Omega es el origen y el final de todo el proceso evolutivo (en su doble papel de Creador y Redentor).
La segunda interpretación es perfectamente compatible con el Cristianismo. La primera, favorita para los ateos, es lo que yo llamo el anti-Cristo. Para comprobar que la segunda interpretación es la de Teilhard, basta leer toda su obra, o al menos "El Medio Divino".
La energía humana es el nombre que Teilhard da al "amor", entendido en un sentido más amplio de lo que se suele considerar, pues además de su versión humana incluye otras muchas formas, anteriores y posteriores al momento evolutivo actual. Podrá parecer a veces que alguna de esas extensiones es abusiva, pero es preciso interpretar esta visión a la luz de la dualidad materia-espíritu primordial, que constituye la base de las ideas de Teilhard.
ENGLISH: This was the first book by Teilhard that I ever read, half a century ago, and this has been the fourth time I've read it. I liked this book so much, that I proceeded to read everything by Teilhard that has been published, except his letters from wartime. One of his books, "Le Milieu Divin", became one of my 10 favorite books of all time.
In this rereading, I went through the same stages as when I read it for the first time. The problem with Teilhard is that his explanations are not always clear enough, so it's easy to misunderstand him. This has led to two antagonistic interpretations of his work. According to one, God-Omega will be the final result of the evolutionary process of which the Earth is one of the main examples (at least, from our point of view). According to the other, God-Alpha&Omega is the origin and the end of the whole evolutionary process (in his double role as Creator and Redeemer).
The second interpretation is perfectly compatible with Christianity. The first, preferred by atheists, is what I call the anti-Christ. To verify that the second interpretation is what Teilhard actually thought, it's enough to read all his work, or at least "The Divine Milieu."
The human energy is the name given by Teilhard to "love," understood in a broader sense, for in addition to its human version it includes many other forms, before and after the current evolutionary moment. Sometimes it may seem that some of these extensions are abusive, but it is necessary to interpret this vision in the light of the primordial spirit-matter duality that forms the basis of Teilhard's thought.
Dans cette relecture, j’ai refait les mêmes étapes quand je l’ai lu pour la première fois. Le problème avec Teilhard est qu’il n’est pas expliqué assez clairement, il est donc facile de le comprendre mal. Cela a conduit à deux interprétations antagonistes de son travail. Selon l'un d'eux, Dieu-Oméga serait le résultat final du processus évolutif dont la Terre est l'un des principaux exemples (du moins, de notre point de vue). Selon l’autre, Dieu-Alpha-et-Oméga est l’origine et la fin de tout le processus évolutif (dans son double rôle de Créateur et de Rédempteur).
La seconde interprétation est parfaitement compatible avec le christianisme. La première, préférée des matérialistes, est ce que j'appelle l'antichrist. Pour vérifier que la deuxième interprétation est celle de Teilhard, il suffit de lire toute son oeuvre, notamment "Le Milieu Divin".
L'énergie humaine est le nom que Teilhard donne à "l'amour", compris dans un sens plus large de ce qui est généralement considéré, car en plus de sa version humaine, il comprend de nombreuses autres formes, avant et après le moment actuel de l'évolution. Parfois, il peut sembler que certaines de ces extensions sont abusives, mais il est nécessaire d'interpréter cette vision à la lumière de la dualité primordiale esprit-matière qui constitue la base des idées de Teilhard.
ESPAÑOL: Este fue el primer libro de Teilhard que leí, hace medio siglo, y con esta ya lo he leído cuatro veces. El libro me gustó tanto que procedí a leer todo lo que se ha publicado de Teilhard, excepto sus cartas en tiempo de guerra. Uno de sus libros, "Le Milieu Divin", se convirtió en uno de mis 10 libros favoritos de todos los tiempos.
En esta relectura he vuelto a pasar por las mismas etapas que al leerlo por primera vez. El problema con Teilhard es que no se explica con suficiente claridad, por lo que es fácil entenderle mal. Esto ha dado lugar a dos interpretaciones antagónicas de su obra. Según una, Dios-Omega será el resultado final del proceso evolutivo del que la Tierra es uno de los principales ejemplos (al menos, desde nuestro punto de vista). Según la otra, Dios-Alfa-y-Omega es el origen y el final de todo el proceso evolutivo (en su doble papel de Creador y Redentor).
La segunda interpretación es perfectamente compatible con el Cristianismo. La primera, favorita para los ateos, es lo que yo llamo el anti-Cristo. Para comprobar que la segunda interpretación es la de Teilhard, basta leer toda su obra, o al menos "El Medio Divino".
La energía humana es el nombre que Teilhard da al "amor", entendido en un sentido más amplio de lo que se suele considerar, pues además de su versión humana incluye otras muchas formas, anteriores y posteriores al momento evolutivo actual. Podrá parecer a veces que alguna de esas extensiones es abusiva, pero es preciso interpretar esta visión a la luz de la dualidad materia-espíritu primordial, que constituye la base de las ideas de Teilhard.
ENGLISH: This was the first book by Teilhard that I ever read, half a century ago, and this has been the fourth time I've read it. I liked this book so much, that I proceeded to read everything by Teilhard that has been published, except his letters from wartime. One of his books, "Le Milieu Divin", became one of my 10 favorite books of all time.
In this rereading, I went through the same stages as when I read it for the first time. The problem with Teilhard is that his explanations are not always clear enough, so it's easy to misunderstand him. This has led to two antagonistic interpretations of his work. According to one, God-Omega will be the final result of the evolutionary process of which the Earth is one of the main examples (at least, from our point of view). According to the other, God-Alpha&Omega is the origin and the end of the whole evolutionary process (in his double role as Creator and Redeemer).
The second interpretation is perfectly compatible with Christianity. The first, preferred by atheists, is what I call the anti-Christ. To verify that the second interpretation is what Teilhard actually thought, it's enough to read all his work, or at least "The Divine Milieu."
The human energy is the name given by Teilhard to "love," understood in a broader sense, for in addition to its human version it includes many other forms, before and after the current evolutionary moment. Sometimes it may seem that some of these extensions are abusive, but it is necessary to interpret this vision in the light of the primordial spirit-matter duality that forms the basis of Teilhard's thought.
May 12, 2023
Teilhard de Chardin's "Human Energy" is a captivating collection of essays written in the 1930s. It still feels fresh and thought-provoking today. He purports to work from scientific premises and reason only from those. This quasi-scientific approach seems a bit flimsy today. As a renowned paleontologist and Jesuit priest, his blend of scientific and theological insights does offer a fascinating perspective. But I would say, these essays lean more towards speculative theology than science.
The essays touch on themes found in some of his other works, such as the essay titled ‘The Positive Value of Suffering.’ Teilhard de Chardin argues that while we should strive to avoid and limit suffering whenever possible, progress, advancement, and personal development are impossible without it.
In the title essay, ‘Human Energy,’ Teilhard de Chardin delves into the concept of an energy driving the universe forward, with all of creation converging towards one future point. He posits that mankind plays a crucial role in the ultimate purpose of the universe. As the pinnacle of the biosphere, self-conscious humans are the driving force of future development. Future development won’t be grounded in the biosphere but in the noosphere—the realm of thought and the mind (from the Greek word for mind, noos).
Teilhard de Chardin identifies Love as this energy that propels humanity forward. Love unifies without erasing their unique identities, in fact, it hyper-personalizes individuals. The incarnation of Jesus Christ introduced this love energy into the world in a transformative way. As both an individual, particular man and as the universal God, Jesus initiated the final stage of human development, culminating in humanity's convergence on the Omega Point, the universe's ultimate goal.
At the Omega Point, humanity will achieve complete unity without losing individuality and personality. At this point, God will unite with humanity - not in a pantheistic way, but in a deeply personal, individual but also unified way. Enter the Theosphere. Mic drop.
Despite the complexity of the essays and the occasionally challenging language—owing in part to translation from French, sprinkled neologism, and cultural differences—readers are rewarded with carefully articulated and fresh theological ideas. "Human Energy" is not a book for speed reading, but rather a treasure trove of thought-provoking insights that should resonate with readers today.
The essays touch on themes found in some of his other works, such as the essay titled ‘The Positive Value of Suffering.’ Teilhard de Chardin argues that while we should strive to avoid and limit suffering whenever possible, progress, advancement, and personal development are impossible without it.
In the title essay, ‘Human Energy,’ Teilhard de Chardin delves into the concept of an energy driving the universe forward, with all of creation converging towards one future point. He posits that mankind plays a crucial role in the ultimate purpose of the universe. As the pinnacle of the biosphere, self-conscious humans are the driving force of future development. Future development won’t be grounded in the biosphere but in the noosphere—the realm of thought and the mind (from the Greek word for mind, noos).
Teilhard de Chardin identifies Love as this energy that propels humanity forward. Love unifies without erasing their unique identities, in fact, it hyper-personalizes individuals. The incarnation of Jesus Christ introduced this love energy into the world in a transformative way. As both an individual, particular man and as the universal God, Jesus initiated the final stage of human development, culminating in humanity's convergence on the Omega Point, the universe's ultimate goal.
At the Omega Point, humanity will achieve complete unity without losing individuality and personality. At this point, God will unite with humanity - not in a pantheistic way, but in a deeply personal, individual but also unified way. Enter the Theosphere. Mic drop.
Despite the complexity of the essays and the occasionally challenging language—owing in part to translation from French, sprinkled neologism, and cultural differences—readers are rewarded with carefully articulated and fresh theological ideas. "Human Energy" is not a book for speed reading, but rather a treasure trove of thought-provoking insights that should resonate with readers today.
October 5, 2017
If you like Carl Jung, you'll love Pierre Teilhard. I looked up whether they influenced each other, and I was surprised to learn that they were writing at about the same time but did Jung did not read Teilhard until he was close to death.
Jung is much into individuation, while Teilhard takes the individuation process a step further by saying that we must become fully realized personalities before we can evolve our consciousness further, or ascend to a higher consciousness. Teilhard is a Christian philosopher and scientist and believes union with the divine does not make disciples strictly all the same, all following the same path, but evolves into a super-personality that is expansive rather than restrictive.
All in all, it's an uplifting philosophy that resonates with me.
Jung is much into individuation, while Teilhard takes the individuation process a step further by saying that we must become fully realized personalities before we can evolve our consciousness further, or ascend to a higher consciousness. Teilhard is a Christian philosopher and scientist and believes union with the divine does not make disciples strictly all the same, all following the same path, but evolves into a super-personality that is expansive rather than restrictive.
All in all, it's an uplifting philosophy that resonates with me.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews