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O Lugar do Homem na Natureza
«O Lugar do Homem na Natureza... Por que motivo, à medida que a Ciência avança, esta questão se torna para nós cada vez mais importante e fascinante? Em primeiro lugar, sem dúvida, pela eterna, muito subjectiva e desde logo suspeita razão de que este é um assunto que nos diz directamente respeito e ao qual estamos muito ligados. Mas também porque, e ainda mais (e desta vez fora de qualquer fraqueza antropocêntrica) começamos a interiorizar, mesmo em função dos últimos progressos dos nossos conhecimentos, a ideia de que o Homem ocupa uma posição-chave, uma posição de eixo principal, uma posição polar no Mundo. Se bem que nos bastasse compreender o Homem para compreender o Universo, tal como o Universo seria incompreensível se nele não conseguíssemos integrar de forma coerente o Homem inteiro, sem deformação, o Homem todo, digo bem, não só com os seus membros, mas com o seu pensamento. Aparentemente uma «espécie» - um simples ramo separado do ramo dos Primatas - mas que se revela dotado de propriedades biológicas absolutamente prodigiosas. Coisa vulgar: mas levada a um excesso invulgar... Para conseguir tais efeitos de invasão e transformação sobre tudo o que a rodeia, não terá a «Matéria hominizada» (único objecto directo das preocupações do cientista) de conter uma força prodigiosa, ser a Vida levada ao extremo, isto é, representar afinal o tecido cósmico no seu estado mais completo, mais acabado, no campo da nossa experiência?»
Teilhard de Chardin
Teilhard de Chardin
155 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
7 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
393 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
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 22, 2023
In "Man's Place in Nature," penned in 1949, the modernity of its ideas is striking, especially when viewed through the lens of 2023.
The initial three chapters may not captivate 21st-century readers as they primarily reiterate biological science concepts from 80 years ago. However, the final two chapters exploring the formation of the Noosphere are nothing short of remarkable.
The book is imbued with the mid-20th-century optimism in progress but encompasses more than just the hope that science and advancement will eventually save us. Teilhard de Chardin presents the Noosphere as a collective consciousness and intelligence that defines advanced civilizations, or even civilizations in general.
From our current vantage point, the author contends that over the last 200 years, the world has converged upon itself. The expansion of civilization has compressed humanity, leading to inevitable collisions between individuals and civilizations. This "psychic compression" raises the temperature of civilization, and in turn, releases human energy to further develop the Noosphere. Though our biology has stabilized, our development as a species persists and accelerates through the cerebral development of humanity. This process expedites the progress of industry and science, as researchers now operate within interconnected networks—generations before the internet's inception.
The book's climax envisions the continuous development of the Noosphere: "An auto-cerebralisation of mankind becoming the most highly concentrated expression of the reflective rebound." By "reflective rebound," Teilhard means consciousness impinging on itself. This notion bears a striking resemblance to the development of AI systems that seemingly emulate consciousness. It is as if Teilhard anticipated the 2022 AI revolution in 1949, long before electronic calculators were even conceived.
Teilhard attempts to anchor his philosophical ideas in a scientific foundation, but this endeavor falls short. Nevertheless, the final two chapters merit attention for their philosophical and theological insights. In the latter half of the book, Chardin elaborates on his vision of human civilization advancing inexorably towards the "Omega point," the ultimate unification and individuation of humanity in Christ.
The initial three chapters may not captivate 21st-century readers as they primarily reiterate biological science concepts from 80 years ago. However, the final two chapters exploring the formation of the Noosphere are nothing short of remarkable.
The book is imbued with the mid-20th-century optimism in progress but encompasses more than just the hope that science and advancement will eventually save us. Teilhard de Chardin presents the Noosphere as a collective consciousness and intelligence that defines advanced civilizations, or even civilizations in general.
From our current vantage point, the author contends that over the last 200 years, the world has converged upon itself. The expansion of civilization has compressed humanity, leading to inevitable collisions between individuals and civilizations. This "psychic compression" raises the temperature of civilization, and in turn, releases human energy to further develop the Noosphere. Though our biology has stabilized, our development as a species persists and accelerates through the cerebral development of humanity. This process expedites the progress of industry and science, as researchers now operate within interconnected networks—generations before the internet's inception.
The book's climax envisions the continuous development of the Noosphere: "An auto-cerebralisation of mankind becoming the most highly concentrated expression of the reflective rebound." By "reflective rebound," Teilhard means consciousness impinging on itself. This notion bears a striking resemblance to the development of AI systems that seemingly emulate consciousness. It is as if Teilhard anticipated the 2022 AI revolution in 1949, long before electronic calculators were even conceived.
Teilhard attempts to anchor his philosophical ideas in a scientific foundation, but this endeavor falls short. Nevertheless, the final two chapters merit attention for their philosophical and theological insights. In the latter half of the book, Chardin elaborates on his vision of human civilization advancing inexorably towards the "Omega point," the ultimate unification and individuation of humanity in Christ.
April 6, 2025
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s Man’s Place in Nature (Le Groupe Zoologique Humain), completed in 1950 and published posthumously in 1956, offers a sweeping reinterpretation of human evolution within a cosmic framework, resonating with the title and theme of Thomas Huxley’s Man’s Place in Nature (1863), yet diverging sharply in its approach. Where Huxley grounded humanity’s origins in empirical biology and primate ancestry, Teilhard rejects such “missing links” and gradualism, proposing instead a teleological vision of evolution driven by a “law of complexity.” This law posits that matter and life evolve not through simple aggregation or repetition (like crystals), but through ordered combinations within closed systems—cells, molecules, organisms—termed “centro-complexity.” Alongside zero (quanta) and immensity (relativity), complexity forms one of three infinites to accompany Blaise Pascal’s two, propelling the universe from unordered to ordered heterogeneity, akin to gravitational condensation rather than entropy.
The book traces this cosmic process across vast scales akin to Kurzweil’s six epochs: from the formation of atoms (ontogenesis) and nucleosynthesis in stars, to the emergence of molecules and proteins on early Earth (cosmogenesis), and the first “vitalisation”—the biosphere’s unicellular organisms. Evolution advances through “phyletisation” (multiplication and diversification), sprouting monocells into chlorophyll-feeding plants and parasitic animals, then into multicellular forms, metazoans, and vertebrates. Cephalisation (fish to reptiles) gives way to cerebration (mammals), culminating in hominisation—the appearance of man. Unlike a singular “tree of life,” Teilhard envisions multiple “sprouts” of species, evolving in punctuated leaps rather than a gradual crawl. Humanity, present from creation’s outset, is defined not by vitalism or dualism, but by degrees of information complexity, with Pithecanthropus erectus marking the first hominid threshold, followed by rapid expansion and differentiation.
This cosmic narrative crescendos in the “noosphere,” a domain of reflection and socialization unique to Homo sapiens, emerging after 600 million years of cerebration. Primates—Eocene tarsoids, Miocene anthropoids, Pliocene apes—set the stage, but humans transcend zoological categorization. The noosphere evolves through embryonic socialization (Neolithic), Toynbee’s 21 civilizations (fluvial, plateau, archipelagic), and a future “Noosphere II,” marked by ethnic compression, economic-technical organization, and heightened consciousness via internet and cybernetics. This global convergence intensifies free energy and accelerated research, rebounding evolution toward “neo-cerebralization” and an “omega point”—a cosmic unity with God beyond space and time. Socialization overtakes cephalisation, balancing individuation (rights, democracy) with a collective personhood. A bright future in line with Kurzweil’s AI singularity and Frank Tipler’s cosmic omega point but with a religious twist.
Teilhard’s vision dazzles with its ambition, integrating scientific phenomena (nucleosynthesis, proteins) with metaphysical speculation. His prose, dense with terms like “centro-complexity” and “radial energy,” demands effort but rewards with a grand, optimistic arc: humanity as the vanguard of an anti-entropic force shaping the cosmos. Critics may balk at the rejection of primate ancestry or the speculative leaps—hominids as the sole new species in two million years?—which clash with mainstream biology. Yet, the book’s strength lies in its imaginative scope and philosophical depth, reframing civilization as a psychological species subject to organic evolution, cross-fertilized by challenges and responses (à la Toynbee and Spengler).
Compared to Huxley’s empirical focus, Teilhard’s work is a bold, almost mystical departure, seeing humanity not as a zoological accident but as a cosmic inevitability. For readers open to a teleological lens, Man’s Place in Nature is a provocative, mind-expanding triumph—one that bridges science and spirit to posit mankind as both the product and purpose of creation.
The book traces this cosmic process across vast scales akin to Kurzweil’s six epochs: from the formation of atoms (ontogenesis) and nucleosynthesis in stars, to the emergence of molecules and proteins on early Earth (cosmogenesis), and the first “vitalisation”—the biosphere’s unicellular organisms. Evolution advances through “phyletisation” (multiplication and diversification), sprouting monocells into chlorophyll-feeding plants and parasitic animals, then into multicellular forms, metazoans, and vertebrates. Cephalisation (fish to reptiles) gives way to cerebration (mammals), culminating in hominisation—the appearance of man. Unlike a singular “tree of life,” Teilhard envisions multiple “sprouts” of species, evolving in punctuated leaps rather than a gradual crawl. Humanity, present from creation’s outset, is defined not by vitalism or dualism, but by degrees of information complexity, with Pithecanthropus erectus marking the first hominid threshold, followed by rapid expansion and differentiation.
This cosmic narrative crescendos in the “noosphere,” a domain of reflection and socialization unique to Homo sapiens, emerging after 600 million years of cerebration. Primates—Eocene tarsoids, Miocene anthropoids, Pliocene apes—set the stage, but humans transcend zoological categorization. The noosphere evolves through embryonic socialization (Neolithic), Toynbee’s 21 civilizations (fluvial, plateau, archipelagic), and a future “Noosphere II,” marked by ethnic compression, economic-technical organization, and heightened consciousness via internet and cybernetics. This global convergence intensifies free energy and accelerated research, rebounding evolution toward “neo-cerebralization” and an “omega point”—a cosmic unity with God beyond space and time. Socialization overtakes cephalisation, balancing individuation (rights, democracy) with a collective personhood. A bright future in line with Kurzweil’s AI singularity and Frank Tipler’s cosmic omega point but with a religious twist.
Teilhard’s vision dazzles with its ambition, integrating scientific phenomena (nucleosynthesis, proteins) with metaphysical speculation. His prose, dense with terms like “centro-complexity” and “radial energy,” demands effort but rewards with a grand, optimistic arc: humanity as the vanguard of an anti-entropic force shaping the cosmos. Critics may balk at the rejection of primate ancestry or the speculative leaps—hominids as the sole new species in two million years?—which clash with mainstream biology. Yet, the book’s strength lies in its imaginative scope and philosophical depth, reframing civilization as a psychological species subject to organic evolution, cross-fertilized by challenges and responses (à la Toynbee and Spengler).
Compared to Huxley’s empirical focus, Teilhard’s work is a bold, almost mystical departure, seeing humanity not as a zoological accident but as a cosmic inevitability. For readers open to a teleological lens, Man’s Place in Nature is a provocative, mind-expanding triumph—one that bridges science and spirit to posit mankind as both the product and purpose of creation.
July 18, 2021
It is so sad that these writings are over 70 years old, but humanity did move forward only so little.
March 13, 2024
Dieses Buch hat mich wie kein anderes zum Nachdenken gebracht.
Teilhard schafft es Evolution, Ortogenese, das menschliche Bewusstsein, Liebe und das Christentum auf faszinierende Art zu vereinen.
Teilhard schafft es Evolution, Ortogenese, das menschliche Bewusstsein, Liebe und das Christentum auf faszinierende Art zu vereinen.
January 4, 2025
One of Teilhard’s more scientific works that charts the gradual ascent or hominization of matter.
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October 25, 2016This paleontologist, Philosopher, Theologian and Missionary is an impressive thinker, even looking back now after a century on his early work. This volume was first written in his native French in 1944, but was not published till 1956, after his death, and in this English edition only in 1966.
I was privileged to find this rare original edition in a library book sale in Arlington, Texas in September 2016. Having read de Chardin in philosophy in my university studies, I was thrilled to see this unmarked copy of his final volume!
De Chardin had been working as a paleontologist under Jesuit sponsorship and was considered a missionary in China. He was interned in a prison camp by the Japanese and was released by the liberation of China only in 1944, when the first thing he faced was a recall to Vatican to face censure for his thoughts in this book.
The delay in publication was the result of a proscription of this work by the Vatican, the last in a series of censures and limitations put on this competent Jesuit scholar, because the Vatican thought he was straying too far away from the prescribed range of Catholic thought. De Chardin was allowed to work as a scientist, with the understanding that his work in science was not to bleed over into the dogma of his Faith in Christ and work in the framework of the Church.
De Chardin writes his science like philosophy. His philosophical science takes a different approach from the medieval scholastic theology developed by Thomas Acquinas. De Chardin's attempt to correct the static, non-personal concept of God in Aristotle's abstract philosophy, which never adequately accounted for a Living, interactive relational God as revealed in the biblical texts.
Medieval European thought that came to be known as Scholastic, and the early modern thought of the Reformers and other European intellectual leaders over the next couple of centuries after the Reformation retained the Scholastic format of Roman Catholic Thomas Aquinas' attempt to adapt Aristotle's philosophy to a Christian format, the later minds could not overcome the impasse Acquinas never was able to overcome. The static materialist pre-Christian pagan philosophy of Aristotle could not represent meaningfully the dynamic Covenant making God revealed in the Hebrew scripture.
De Chardin tried to bridge that gap by speaking in terms of modern thought with a dynamic approach to science that focused on the growing picture of unity in the physical creation as a format to reconcile scientific findings about the natural world with Hebrew-Christian claims about the revealed relational Covenant God of the Bible.
De Chardin's system of Process handles very well the collection of knowledge up to his time from various disciplines and later up to our time. His thoughts on the unity of the Creation fits well with Process Philosophy and the resultant Process Theologies in the 20th Century. His personal sense of Faith in the One and the concept that all of Creation comes from one source is clear in his presentation and analysis of this own findings and the collective findings of archaeology and paleontology.
He writes before the discovery of DNA, but he references genetics up to that point with great insight on the unity of all Life, which has been definitively affirmed by recent comparative DNA studies on virtually all species of life and all modern varieties of humans, and extensive prehistorical human remains that contained viable DNA.
But his dynamic approach to knowledge as a scientist, and his robust concept of the Unity of creation on the model of his faith, and the concept of the processes discovered in the world and ourselves as humans, all enable his dynamic and rewarding presentation here of the Place of Man [Humanity] in Nature.
This volume was a refreshing read and a good review of the state of human knowledge up to WWII.
I was privileged to find this rare original edition in a library book sale in Arlington, Texas in September 2016. Having read de Chardin in philosophy in my university studies, I was thrilled to see this unmarked copy of his final volume!
De Chardin had been working as a paleontologist under Jesuit sponsorship and was considered a missionary in China. He was interned in a prison camp by the Japanese and was released by the liberation of China only in 1944, when the first thing he faced was a recall to Vatican to face censure for his thoughts in this book.
The delay in publication was the result of a proscription of this work by the Vatican, the last in a series of censures and limitations put on this competent Jesuit scholar, because the Vatican thought he was straying too far away from the prescribed range of Catholic thought. De Chardin was allowed to work as a scientist, with the understanding that his work in science was not to bleed over into the dogma of his Faith in Christ and work in the framework of the Church.
De Chardin writes his science like philosophy. His philosophical science takes a different approach from the medieval scholastic theology developed by Thomas Acquinas. De Chardin's attempt to correct the static, non-personal concept of God in Aristotle's abstract philosophy, which never adequately accounted for a Living, interactive relational God as revealed in the biblical texts.
Medieval European thought that came to be known as Scholastic, and the early modern thought of the Reformers and other European intellectual leaders over the next couple of centuries after the Reformation retained the Scholastic format of Roman Catholic Thomas Aquinas' attempt to adapt Aristotle's philosophy to a Christian format, the later minds could not overcome the impasse Acquinas never was able to overcome. The static materialist pre-Christian pagan philosophy of Aristotle could not represent meaningfully the dynamic Covenant making God revealed in the Hebrew scripture.
De Chardin tried to bridge that gap by speaking in terms of modern thought with a dynamic approach to science that focused on the growing picture of unity in the physical creation as a format to reconcile scientific findings about the natural world with Hebrew-Christian claims about the revealed relational Covenant God of the Bible.
De Chardin's system of Process handles very well the collection of knowledge up to his time from various disciplines and later up to our time. His thoughts on the unity of the Creation fits well with Process Philosophy and the resultant Process Theologies in the 20th Century. His personal sense of Faith in the One and the concept that all of Creation comes from one source is clear in his presentation and analysis of this own findings and the collective findings of archaeology and paleontology.
He writes before the discovery of DNA, but he references genetics up to that point with great insight on the unity of all Life, which has been definitively affirmed by recent comparative DNA studies on virtually all species of life and all modern varieties of humans, and extensive prehistorical human remains that contained viable DNA.
But his dynamic approach to knowledge as a scientist, and his robust concept of the Unity of creation on the model of his faith, and the concept of the processes discovered in the world and ourselves as humans, all enable his dynamic and rewarding presentation here of the Place of Man [Humanity] in Nature.
This volume was a refreshing read and a good review of the state of human knowledge up to WWII.
June 13, 2013
Tedy, k tomu srovnání s Vesmírem a lidstvem: Vesmír a lidstvo mi přišel o trochu čtivější, víc vypravěčský a osobní než obsahově podobná úvodní esej z téhle knížky. Zbylé články se taky pohybují kolem tohohle jeho hlavního tématu, ale každý trochu zorným úhlem jiného typu lidské činnosti - od umění po vědu. Pokud bych měl něco doporučit někomu, kdo od něj asi nic nečet, doporučil bych zatím spíš Vesmír a lidstvo, pokud by chtěl získat komplexnější pohled na Teilharda jako osobu, pak spíš tohle.
March 5, 2013
An early attempt at harmonizing religion and science during the age of cataclysmic advances of science and challenges to man and morality. Others have lifted the torch and carried it further, but for those who are interested in this aspect of theosophy and science, it is a unique and prescient work in many ways.
February 27, 2011
Noosphäre und so.
May 11, 2018
Complex sentences and new words all make for difficult reading. Worth reading.
October 11, 2019
A bit hard to follow, but just push through the words and grab the intended idea. Interesting view of our future as a human species
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews