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The Future of Man
The Future of Man is a magnificent introduction to the thoughts and writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, one of the few figures in the history of the Catholic Church to achieve renown as both a scientist and a theologian. Trained as a paleontologist and ordained as a Jesuit priest, Teilhard de Chardin devoted himself to establishing the intimate, interdependent connection between science—particularly the theory of evolution—and the basic tenets of the Christian faith. At the center of his philosophy was the belief that the human species is evolving spiritually, progressing from a simple faith to higher and higher forms of consciousness, including a consciousness of God, and culminating in the ultimate understanding of humankind’s place and purpose in the universe. The Church, which would not condone his philosophical writings, refused to allow their publication during his lifetime. Written over a period of thirty years and presented here in chronological order, the essays cover the wide-ranging interests and inquiries that engaged Teilhard de Chardin throughout his intellectual and social evolution; the coming of ultra-humanity; the integral place of faith in God in the advancement of science; and the impact of scientific discoveries on traditional religious dogma. Less formal than The Phenomenon of Man and The Divine Milieu , Teilhard de Chardin’s most renowned works, The Future of Man offers a complete, fully accessible look at the genesis of ideas that continue to reverberate in both the scientific and the religious communities.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
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1177 people want to read
About the author
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
395 books501 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 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 9, 2022
I hate to say it, but I was really glad to get this book finished. I skimmed some of the last pages because it began to feel repetitive, which it was, really. I appreciate Teilhard's great reasoning and the larger points that he makes through his years of deep contemplation and observation. But at times, I felt that he was trying too hard to pinpoint the mysterious relationship between humanity and our Creator—practically insisting that he could see the full plan. His great faith and profound spirituality kept him from sliding into the miasma of "Universal Oneness" but, like all great thinkers, there are moments where he seems to make stuff up. Realities beyond any human knowledge. Accepting the mystery of what comes next while appreciating the grandeur of our human struggle while on earth allowed me to read his work in honest reflection. Teilhard De Chardin may be right... I can't say. But he has a very hopeful vision, that's for sure.
July 18, 2016
-Uno de los trabajos centrales relativos a la gran obsesión del autor.-
Género. Ensayo.
Lo que nos cuenta. Recopilación de ensayos del autor reunidos tras su fallecimiento que, desde diferentes prismas, se aproximan a la evolución humana en lo físico, lo social y lo espiritual mientras trata de crear enlaces entre la religión cristiana y la ciencia.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....
Género. Ensayo.
Lo que nos cuenta. Recopilación de ensayos del autor reunidos tras su fallecimiento que, desde diferentes prismas, se aproximan a la evolución humana en lo físico, lo social y lo espiritual mientras trata de crear enlaces entre la religión cristiana y la ciencia.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....
August 22, 2021
The author provides his theories on metaphysics and the nature of mankind. He confronts these topics from a unique background, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin is both a trained paleontologist as well as an ordained Jesuit priest. His ideas were considered so unconventional that the Catholic church refused to allow him to publish them during his lifetime.
To me, his main theory fits in well with that of Intelligent Design: biological evolution has a purpose and modern humans are the culimination of that purpose. This is the point where it gets interesting. The author claims that while biological evolution appears to have stopped in humans, an evolution of shared consciousness is now progressing within humanity. With mankind now able to communicate and pass knowledge down to succeeding generations a new collective consciousness has emerged and is now itself evolving into what he terms a 'planetised spirit". He describes it as "a tightening network of economic and psychic bonds". He coined the word "Noosphere" to describe this emerging entity which we are all a part of. Although he developed these theories in the 1940's they dovetail nicely with our current internet based world. The Noosphere is the next stage of evolution, which will ultimately develop into a shared human consiousness that will eventually reach out and connect with God.
I found his theories extremely thought provoking and expect to be mulling them over in my mind for years to come. Like most books of this type it is often not an easy read. Especially so in this case since it is not really a book at all but a collection of his essays. But, his ideas are so profound thats it is worth the effort.
To me, his main theory fits in well with that of Intelligent Design: biological evolution has a purpose and modern humans are the culimination of that purpose. This is the point where it gets interesting. The author claims that while biological evolution appears to have stopped in humans, an evolution of shared consciousness is now progressing within humanity. With mankind now able to communicate and pass knowledge down to succeeding generations a new collective consciousness has emerged and is now itself evolving into what he terms a 'planetised spirit". He describes it as "a tightening network of economic and psychic bonds". He coined the word "Noosphere" to describe this emerging entity which we are all a part of. Although he developed these theories in the 1940's they dovetail nicely with our current internet based world. The Noosphere is the next stage of evolution, which will ultimately develop into a shared human consiousness that will eventually reach out and connect with God.
I found his theories extremely thought provoking and expect to be mulling them over in my mind for years to come. Like most books of this type it is often not an easy read. Especially so in this case since it is not really a book at all but a collection of his essays. But, his ideas are so profound thats it is worth the effort.
January 13, 2016
Teilhard de Chardin was a polymath writer and thinker, a priest and a respected paleontologist. In this collection of essays he ponders the future of mankind in the upward evolutionary progression of life on earth. It is here that his mystical-religious side shines through, as he ponders the big questions. The growth of material complexity in living organisms is paralleled by a growing psychological complexity of consciousness, and he takes this trend to ponder what the trajectory of the future might reveal. As individual humans interconnect more and more, he posits the arrival at what he calls the Omega Point, the Cosmic Christ point, or the "planetization of mankind," in which a kind of global consciousness is reached. While I suspect the arrival at this point may be a more difficult progress than he imagined in the 40s and 50s, I don't see any reason to doubt that something like it may be coming. The history of humanity has shown that as time and history progresses, we discover more and more what is healthy and what is damaging and harmful to human life in terms of culture and society. We perceive our time today as being horribly violent, but there has been an inexorable climb away from brutality, and we actually live in the least violent age in recorded human history. The book is a bracing challenge to those who refuse to admit to an inexorable growth of progress in the world, and may actually give you hope for the future.
September 9, 2012
As the second thinker to use the term "noosphere," following V.I. Vernadsky, Teilhard overcasts a triumphant neoclassical view of mankind and places consciousness at center stage. IMO, Teilhard's two big contributions come in the following palettes: 1- Teilhard's complexity law: Roughly, matter and energy, have tendencies to merge into larger and more complex systems that have have better evolutive advantages, and 2- These tendencies are composed within different stages of evolutionary time-Cosmic, Infinitesimal, and Human Consciousness; and the current stage of evolution is centered on the development of the noosphere (IE: global consciousness).
I love this book for 2 reasons. First, as a representative of the Catholic Church, Teilhard proposes an alternative to western dogmas involving the ideas of the apocalypse and the postmortem heaven and hell. More or less, faith in God is transposed into a faith in Man, and Man is not doomed to only fail in this life so as to succeed in the next. This broadens traditional Catholic sentiments and leads to possible panentheistic or pantheistic ideals. Second, Teilhard offers a contrast to the latent science-and-new atheism-based waning in Faith, simply by providing the proper lens of perspective: Instead of random (IE: godless) mutation and the inconsequential cosmic placing of Earth, complexity and consciousness are inherent properties of the Universe and placement is not arbitrary, it is precise. Thus, what has occurred must have occurred, and science can still be predicated on a faith-based analysis (perhaps God is not behind the curtain, "he" is the curtain). Certainly, since the advent of the information age and scientific reform, it has been hard to merge traditional religious fervor with objective rationalism. Teilhard turns this on its head. Today, we may have the power of being "in the know," but yesterday that power was still there, despite a noticeable hominid absence. Allow me to be blunt, we may be conscious, but our consciousness is the gift of a greater system- namely, the Universe.
My first appreciation here recognizes Teilhard's contribution to transposing Catholicism. My second recognizes that Teilhard allows Catholicism to still be viable in the age of postmodernism.
A few aesthetics: This book gets a little wordy and is sometimes redundant or hard to follow. Teilhard also seems to give undue attention to some particular Christian stances (perhaps to avoid complete censure)- it looks like he avoids some of his own conclusions and rationalizes certain Christian appeals. While some may complain that this book is dated in the fields of cosmology, paleontology, and evolutionary biology, and the book only begins to hint at true pantheistic approaches, I still recommend this piece as an excellent start into the forays of noospheric possibilities. Teilhard doesn't really come out and say it, but the logical implications of his ideas really highlight some exciting possibilities for the future. I'll be waiting.
Enjoy.
I love this book for 2 reasons. First, as a representative of the Catholic Church, Teilhard proposes an alternative to western dogmas involving the ideas of the apocalypse and the postmortem heaven and hell. More or less, faith in God is transposed into a faith in Man, and Man is not doomed to only fail in this life so as to succeed in the next. This broadens traditional Catholic sentiments and leads to possible panentheistic or pantheistic ideals. Second, Teilhard offers a contrast to the latent science-and-new atheism-based waning in Faith, simply by providing the proper lens of perspective: Instead of random (IE: godless) mutation and the inconsequential cosmic placing of Earth, complexity and consciousness are inherent properties of the Universe and placement is not arbitrary, it is precise. Thus, what has occurred must have occurred, and science can still be predicated on a faith-based analysis (perhaps God is not behind the curtain, "he" is the curtain). Certainly, since the advent of the information age and scientific reform, it has been hard to merge traditional religious fervor with objective rationalism. Teilhard turns this on its head. Today, we may have the power of being "in the know," but yesterday that power was still there, despite a noticeable hominid absence. Allow me to be blunt, we may be conscious, but our consciousness is the gift of a greater system- namely, the Universe.
My first appreciation here recognizes Teilhard's contribution to transposing Catholicism. My second recognizes that Teilhard allows Catholicism to still be viable in the age of postmodernism.
A few aesthetics: This book gets a little wordy and is sometimes redundant or hard to follow. Teilhard also seems to give undue attention to some particular Christian stances (perhaps to avoid complete censure)- it looks like he avoids some of his own conclusions and rationalizes certain Christian appeals. While some may complain that this book is dated in the fields of cosmology, paleontology, and evolutionary biology, and the book only begins to hint at true pantheistic approaches, I still recommend this piece as an excellent start into the forays of noospheric possibilities. Teilhard doesn't really come out and say it, but the logical implications of his ideas really highlight some exciting possibilities for the future. I'll be waiting.
Enjoy.
January 24, 2011
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was one of the most forward-looking thinkers of the early twentieth century. Trained as a paleontologist and ordained a Jesuit priest, foresaw the time when scientific knowledge and religious knowledge would join together in an ecstasy of sorts that he termed the "Omega Point". This is arguably one of the greatest single ideas of twentieth century thought. If the book were rated solely on this point, it would definitely be a 5-star work.
However, reading Teilhard's book is a test of patience. For one thing, his several chapters of scientific commentary are woefully out of date -- one would do much better to read a 21st century exposition. More importantly, Teilhard's writing style is so turgid, fluffy and filled with hyperbole that it is very hard to understand what he is really saying.
Indeed, it is a great pity that such a great idea was couched in such a murky exposition.
However, reading Teilhard's book is a test of patience. For one thing, his several chapters of scientific commentary are woefully out of date -- one would do much better to read a 21st century exposition. More importantly, Teilhard's writing style is so turgid, fluffy and filled with hyperbole that it is very hard to understand what he is really saying.
Indeed, it is a great pity that such a great idea was couched in such a murky exposition.
April 11, 2025
I picked up The Future of Man as a counterpart to Teilhard de Chardin’s The Appearance of Man, aiming to balance his grounded paleontological insights with his vision of humanity’s destiny. I first learned of Teilhard through Frank Tipler’s The Physics of Immortality, which introduced me to his teleological, human-centric style—a perspective that sees evolution as a purposeful, humanity-driven process culminating in a transcendent unity he calls the Omega Point. As a Jesuit priest and paleontologist, Teilhard is a visionary, and his ideas have deeply influenced my thinking, but this collection of essays left me wanting more depth and less repetition. While it offers glimpses of his brilliance, it pales in comparison to his anthropological work and feels like a speculative rehash of ideas better explored elsewhere.
The Future of Man is a collection of 22 essays written between 1920 and 1952, published posthumously in 1964. The essays explore Teilhard’s core concepts: the noosphere (a global sphere of human thought), the convergence of humanity into a unified whole, and the ultimate evolution toward the Omega Point—a divine unity of consciousness. I appreciated essays like “Some Reflections on the Spiritual Repercussions of the Atom Bomb,” where Teilhard applies his philosophy to the post-WWII era, arguing that the bomb’s threat could catalyze global unity—a rare moment of historical specificity in an otherwise abstract collection. Other essays, like “The Formation of the Noosphere” and “On the Probable Coming of an ‘Ultra-Humanity’,” outline his vision of humanity’s future, emphasizing our role as co-creators in a cosmic story.
What makes Teilhard a visionary is his teleological, human-centric approach. Unlike many scientists of his time, he saw evolution as a directed process, with humanity at its center, progressing toward greater complexity, consciousness, and unity. This perspective drew me to him after encountering Tipler, who explicitly builds on Teilhard’s Omega Point in The Physics of Immortality. Tipler, a physicist, grounds the concept in modern physics, arguing that the universe could evolve toward a state of infinite computational capacity, effectively “resurrecting” all beings in a computational sense. Similarly, Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Near echoes Teilhard’s ideas, even if Kurzweil doesn’t directly acknowledge him, as far as I recall. Kurzweil’s six epochs—starting with physics and chemistry, moving through biology and human intelligence, and culminating in a merger of human and machine intelligence—mirror Teilhard’s progression from pre-life to the noosphere to the Omega Point. Kurzweil’s Singularity, a future where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, parallels Teilhard’s futuristic vision of global unity, but with updated mechanics driven by exponential technological growth. Teilhard is a visionary waiting for evangelists, and while Tipler directly takes up that role, Kurzweil’s work resonates with Teilhard’s cosmic evolution in a complementary way, providing the scientific and technological frameworks Teilhard’s speculative ideas lacked.
However, The Future of Man highlights the gaps in Teilhard’s cosmological speculations. As a paleontologist, he was groundbreaking—his work on Peking Man and human origins, as seen in The Appearance of Man, is rooted in empirical evidence and tells a realistic history of our past. But in The Future of Man, he’s speculating about a future he couldn’t witness, and it shows. Essays like “From the Pre-Human to the Ultra-Human” and “How may we Conceive and Hope that Unanimisation will be Realised on Earth?” repeat the same ideas—global unity, the noosphere, the Omega Point—without the scientific rigor we expect today. Modern cosmology, with discoveries like DNA sequencing and the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the limits of his speculative leaps. He didn’t foresee the complexities of global unity in the internet age, where technology can deepen divisions as much as it unites us—a dynamic Kurzweil addresses more directly with his focus on AI and exponential growth. Teilhard’s optimism, while inspiring, feels ungrounded compared to his anthropological work.
The contrast with The Appearance of Man is stark. That book, also a collection of essays, focuses on Teilhard’s paleontological expertise, exploring human evolution with a clarity and authority that comes from his direct involvement in fossil discoveries. It’s a realistic history, grounded in evidence, and I found it far more engaging. The Future of Man, on the other hand, is a speculative projection, and since Teilhard wasn’t there to see the future—space travel, the internet, modern cosmology—his ideas feel dated and repetitive. I also read Man’s Place in Nature and Bernard Delfgaauw’s Evolution: The Theory of Teilhard de Chardin, which provided a more concise introduction to his thought, making The Future of Man feel like a rehash of concepts I’d already encountered.
Teilhard is a much better anthropologist than cosmologist. His paleontological contributions, like those in The Appearance of Man, remain groundbreaking, while his cosmological ideas, though visionary, show their gaps over time. That said, his teleological style—explicitly purposeful and human-centric—is what makes him compelling. He sees humanity as the leading edge of evolution, a perspective that resonates deeply, especially when viewed alongside Tipler’s physics and Kurzweil’s technological framework.
For a more detailed, consistent analysis of Teilhard’s thought, I’d recommend diving straight into The Phenomenon of Man over The Future of Man. It’s a cohesive work that systematically lays out his teleological vision, with a stronger focus on human evolution in its early sections, and it’s the direct source of the Omega Point concept that Tipler built upon and Kurzweil echoes. The Divine Milieu might appeal to those seeking a spiritual perspective, but it lacks the anthropological depth I valued in Teilhard’s work. Ultimately, The Future of Man offers a glimpse of his visionary style but falls short of his best contributions. It’s a book I’ll be returning to the library, grateful for the introduction to Teilhard’s thought but ready to move on to his more foundational works, where I can further explore the ideas that Tipler and Kurzweil have so brilliantly complemented.
Rating: 2.5/5 – A visionary but repetitive collection that pales in comparison to Teilhard’s anthropological brilliance. Better suited for those new to his ideas or deeply invested in his speculative vision, but enriched by the modern frameworks of thinkers like Tipler and Kurzweil.
The Future of Man is a collection of 22 essays written between 1920 and 1952, published posthumously in 1964. The essays explore Teilhard’s core concepts: the noosphere (a global sphere of human thought), the convergence of humanity into a unified whole, and the ultimate evolution toward the Omega Point—a divine unity of consciousness. I appreciated essays like “Some Reflections on the Spiritual Repercussions of the Atom Bomb,” where Teilhard applies his philosophy to the post-WWII era, arguing that the bomb’s threat could catalyze global unity—a rare moment of historical specificity in an otherwise abstract collection. Other essays, like “The Formation of the Noosphere” and “On the Probable Coming of an ‘Ultra-Humanity’,” outline his vision of humanity’s future, emphasizing our role as co-creators in a cosmic story.
What makes Teilhard a visionary is his teleological, human-centric approach. Unlike many scientists of his time, he saw evolution as a directed process, with humanity at its center, progressing toward greater complexity, consciousness, and unity. This perspective drew me to him after encountering Tipler, who explicitly builds on Teilhard’s Omega Point in The Physics of Immortality. Tipler, a physicist, grounds the concept in modern physics, arguing that the universe could evolve toward a state of infinite computational capacity, effectively “resurrecting” all beings in a computational sense. Similarly, Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Near echoes Teilhard’s ideas, even if Kurzweil doesn’t directly acknowledge him, as far as I recall. Kurzweil’s six epochs—starting with physics and chemistry, moving through biology and human intelligence, and culminating in a merger of human and machine intelligence—mirror Teilhard’s progression from pre-life to the noosphere to the Omega Point. Kurzweil’s Singularity, a future where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, parallels Teilhard’s futuristic vision of global unity, but with updated mechanics driven by exponential technological growth. Teilhard is a visionary waiting for evangelists, and while Tipler directly takes up that role, Kurzweil’s work resonates with Teilhard’s cosmic evolution in a complementary way, providing the scientific and technological frameworks Teilhard’s speculative ideas lacked.
However, The Future of Man highlights the gaps in Teilhard’s cosmological speculations. As a paleontologist, he was groundbreaking—his work on Peking Man and human origins, as seen in The Appearance of Man, is rooted in empirical evidence and tells a realistic history of our past. But in The Future of Man, he’s speculating about a future he couldn’t witness, and it shows. Essays like “From the Pre-Human to the Ultra-Human” and “How may we Conceive and Hope that Unanimisation will be Realised on Earth?” repeat the same ideas—global unity, the noosphere, the Omega Point—without the scientific rigor we expect today. Modern cosmology, with discoveries like DNA sequencing and the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the limits of his speculative leaps. He didn’t foresee the complexities of global unity in the internet age, where technology can deepen divisions as much as it unites us—a dynamic Kurzweil addresses more directly with his focus on AI and exponential growth. Teilhard’s optimism, while inspiring, feels ungrounded compared to his anthropological work.
The contrast with The Appearance of Man is stark. That book, also a collection of essays, focuses on Teilhard’s paleontological expertise, exploring human evolution with a clarity and authority that comes from his direct involvement in fossil discoveries. It’s a realistic history, grounded in evidence, and I found it far more engaging. The Future of Man, on the other hand, is a speculative projection, and since Teilhard wasn’t there to see the future—space travel, the internet, modern cosmology—his ideas feel dated and repetitive. I also read Man’s Place in Nature and Bernard Delfgaauw’s Evolution: The Theory of Teilhard de Chardin, which provided a more concise introduction to his thought, making The Future of Man feel like a rehash of concepts I’d already encountered.
Teilhard is a much better anthropologist than cosmologist. His paleontological contributions, like those in The Appearance of Man, remain groundbreaking, while his cosmological ideas, though visionary, show their gaps over time. That said, his teleological style—explicitly purposeful and human-centric—is what makes him compelling. He sees humanity as the leading edge of evolution, a perspective that resonates deeply, especially when viewed alongside Tipler’s physics and Kurzweil’s technological framework.
For a more detailed, consistent analysis of Teilhard’s thought, I’d recommend diving straight into The Phenomenon of Man over The Future of Man. It’s a cohesive work that systematically lays out his teleological vision, with a stronger focus on human evolution in its early sections, and it’s the direct source of the Omega Point concept that Tipler built upon and Kurzweil echoes. The Divine Milieu might appeal to those seeking a spiritual perspective, but it lacks the anthropological depth I valued in Teilhard’s work. Ultimately, The Future of Man offers a glimpse of his visionary style but falls short of his best contributions. It’s a book I’ll be returning to the library, grateful for the introduction to Teilhard’s thought but ready to move on to his more foundational works, where I can further explore the ideas that Tipler and Kurzweil have so brilliantly complemented.
Rating: 2.5/5 – A visionary but repetitive collection that pales in comparison to Teilhard’s anthropological brilliance. Better suited for those new to his ideas or deeply invested in his speculative vision, but enriched by the modern frameworks of thinkers like Tipler and Kurzweil.
May 13, 2012
Are... "We moving! We are going forward!" Or... "Nothing changes, We are not moving at all." How can we Not believe we are moving forward? And, if indeed, we 'are' moving forward despite all appearances to the contrary Mankind is not only capable of living in peace but by its very structure CANNOT FAIL EVENTUALLY TO ACHIEVE PEACE. Erit in omnibus omnia Deus...
The three verses are I Corinthians XV, 26, 27 and 28:
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all...
Pierre Teilhard Chardin is a fine theologian and an equally noted author. Find the book, discover the Cosmos - Cosmogenesis, Biogenesis, Noogenesis, Christogenesis. Also discover; 1. The Universe is centrated - Evolutively, Upwar and Forward of Christ is the Centre - The Christian Phenomena and Noogenesis, Christogenesis, Paul.
Find the book...
Randall
The three verses are I Corinthians XV, 26, 27 and 28:
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all...
Pierre Teilhard Chardin is a fine theologian and an equally noted author. Find the book, discover the Cosmos - Cosmogenesis, Biogenesis, Noogenesis, Christogenesis. Also discover; 1. The Universe is centrated - Evolutively, Upwar and Forward of Christ is the Centre - The Christian Phenomena and Noogenesis, Christogenesis, Paul.
Find the book...
Randall
November 18, 2010
Trippy spiritual reading, a bit dated.
June 5, 2008
Reading for my discussion group. Group of essays. Dense and very intellectual.
October 4, 2025
Electric with optimism and hope for the future.
This book is a collection of 22 essays arranged in chronological order. They all essentially cover the same theme. The theme which dominated the life and writings of Chardin: The future convergence of humanity.
The essays take a scientific approach. There is very little theology, except as for the editorial inclusion of some early notes and the Chardin’s final journal entry at the end of the volume. Remarkably, his final journal entry is a concise, one page summary of the theological aspect of his life’s work.
He never straying from his Orthodox beliefs, but in expressing his ideas without resort to theology can lead to misunderstanding, and explains why the hierarchy prevented him from publishing in his lifetime.
Taking this scientific approach he explores and elaborates on the theme of the Cosmos and its developement and direction. The purposeful progression from cosmic to geologic to biological to psychological, i.e. Cosmos to Planetary to Biosphere to Noosphere. The question becomes, where does the Noosphere lead? Chardin was convinced, both scientifically and theologically that it strives toward unification. Developing these ideas in the wake of WWI and WWII shows the depths of his, what one could say, supernatural optimism. He served as a medic in WWI, even though he could have served as a Chaplin.
There is a lot of repitition of ideas as he developed these themes over about 20 years. This is helpful as it helps in coming to terms with Chardin. What does he mean by the use of certain expressions? He writes in the typically French style of dancing around ideas and weaving a lace of interconnected themes rather than the German style of building an argument brick by brick. And as with many, if not most mystics, he is prone to misunderstanding due to the novelty and essentially inexpressible nature of his ideas.
Fascinating, hopeful, exciting, optimistic.
Highly Recommended. Contains many of the same ideas as his Phenomenon of Man, but not as fleshed out. It acts as his YouTube videos talking about his work.
Reading a First Edition hardcover from 1964 was a joy. What a solid yet flexible binding with fabric-covered boards, heavy paper, and razor-sharp print. The book opens easily from beginning to end. These kinds of physical books are a rare today, but in the golden age of book publishing, they were the norm. A joy to hold.
This book is a collection of 22 essays arranged in chronological order. They all essentially cover the same theme. The theme which dominated the life and writings of Chardin: The future convergence of humanity.
The essays take a scientific approach. There is very little theology, except as for the editorial inclusion of some early notes and the Chardin’s final journal entry at the end of the volume. Remarkably, his final journal entry is a concise, one page summary of the theological aspect of his life’s work.
He never straying from his Orthodox beliefs, but in expressing his ideas without resort to theology can lead to misunderstanding, and explains why the hierarchy prevented him from publishing in his lifetime.
Taking this scientific approach he explores and elaborates on the theme of the Cosmos and its developement and direction. The purposeful progression from cosmic to geologic to biological to psychological, i.e. Cosmos to Planetary to Biosphere to Noosphere. The question becomes, where does the Noosphere lead? Chardin was convinced, both scientifically and theologically that it strives toward unification. Developing these ideas in the wake of WWI and WWII shows the depths of his, what one could say, supernatural optimism. He served as a medic in WWI, even though he could have served as a Chaplin.
There is a lot of repitition of ideas as he developed these themes over about 20 years. This is helpful as it helps in coming to terms with Chardin. What does he mean by the use of certain expressions? He writes in the typically French style of dancing around ideas and weaving a lace of interconnected themes rather than the German style of building an argument brick by brick. And as with many, if not most mystics, he is prone to misunderstanding due to the novelty and essentially inexpressible nature of his ideas.
Fascinating, hopeful, exciting, optimistic.
Highly Recommended. Contains many of the same ideas as his Phenomenon of Man, but not as fleshed out. It acts as his YouTube videos talking about his work.
Reading a First Edition hardcover from 1964 was a joy. What a solid yet flexible binding with fabric-covered boards, heavy paper, and razor-sharp print. The book opens easily from beginning to end. These kinds of physical books are a rare today, but in the golden age of book publishing, they were the norm. A joy to hold.
November 21, 2023
"The greater and more revolutionary and idea, the more does it encounter resistance at its inception."
"Why should we not make room in our physics for the organic axis of Time? Following this axis in the downward direction of entropy we find that matter becomes diffuse and energy is neutralized. This is something that we have long known. But why should we not take into specific account the cosmic movement operating in the reverse sense, toward the higher forms of synthesis, which is so strikingly apparent?"
"To love is to discover and complete one's self in someone other than oneself, an act impossible of general realization on earth so long as each man can see in his neighbor no more than a closed fragment following its own course through the world."
"... The advance of Life, however spurred on by the sheer, hard necessity of continuing to exist, has always been inspired by an expectation of something greater. Are not Nature's countless experiments all variants of a single act of faith, an obstinate feeling of the way toward an outlet leading forward and even higher?"
"... The human world of today has not grown cold, but ...it is ardently searching for a God proportionate to the new dimensions of the Universe whose appearance has completely revolutionized the scale of our faculty of worship. And it is because the total Unity of which we dream still seems to back in in two different directions, toward the zenith and toward the horizon, that we see the dramatic growth of a whole race of the "spiritually stateless"- human beings torn between a Marxism who is depersonalizing effects revolts them and a Christianity so lukewarm in human terms that it's sickens them."
"Why should we not make room in our physics for the organic axis of Time? Following this axis in the downward direction of entropy we find that matter becomes diffuse and energy is neutralized. This is something that we have long known. But why should we not take into specific account the cosmic movement operating in the reverse sense, toward the higher forms of synthesis, which is so strikingly apparent?"
"To love is to discover and complete one's self in someone other than oneself, an act impossible of general realization on earth so long as each man can see in his neighbor no more than a closed fragment following its own course through the world."
"... The advance of Life, however spurred on by the sheer, hard necessity of continuing to exist, has always been inspired by an expectation of something greater. Are not Nature's countless experiments all variants of a single act of faith, an obstinate feeling of the way toward an outlet leading forward and even higher?"
"... The human world of today has not grown cold, but ...it is ardently searching for a God proportionate to the new dimensions of the Universe whose appearance has completely revolutionized the scale of our faculty of worship. And it is because the total Unity of which we dream still seems to back in in two different directions, toward the zenith and toward the horizon, that we see the dramatic growth of a whole race of the "spiritually stateless"- human beings torn between a Marxism who is depersonalizing effects revolts them and a Christianity so lukewarm in human terms that it's sickens them."
October 15, 2019
de Chardin was a paleontologist, which influenced his life greatly.
He lectured and wrote in the 1940's and 1950's. He was a Christian,
but was not always appreciated by the Catholic church. He was
French.
He foresees in his book the "planetization" of humanity. (This
was in an era of radio reaching around the world, but there was
no internet and no face-time.) He sees in evolution from the
beginnings as a growing in complexity, which he believes will
continue as humanity collectivizes and develops its ultra-human
self.
He admits the collective could be by totalitarian means, as by
Marxism that destroys individualism. Or it can be as people
join in sympathy with one another and promote in individuals
the best they can be. But he is sure it will happen one way or
the other.
Today's world, though often divided in many ways, I think is
coming together in ways few could imagine when de Chardin
was writing. It poses a question of what can be next?
He lectured and wrote in the 1940's and 1950's. He was a Christian,
but was not always appreciated by the Catholic church. He was
French.
He foresees in his book the "planetization" of humanity. (This
was in an era of radio reaching around the world, but there was
no internet and no face-time.) He sees in evolution from the
beginnings as a growing in complexity, which he believes will
continue as humanity collectivizes and develops its ultra-human
self.
He admits the collective could be by totalitarian means, as by
Marxism that destroys individualism. Or it can be as people
join in sympathy with one another and promote in individuals
the best they can be. But he is sure it will happen one way or
the other.
Today's world, though often divided in many ways, I think is
coming together in ways few could imagine when de Chardin
was writing. It poses a question of what can be next?
gone-gave-away
February 26, 2024Seems like wishy-washy leftist French philosophizing, with a starting point being that he had to justify all that money that was spent on his paleontologist schooling. Thus, he needed to somehow shoehorn the unsound theory of evolution into Christian polemics.
"It should be noted that by it's very nature as a centered reflective collectivity, the Noosphere, while occupying the same spatial dimensions of the Biosphere, differs from it profoundly..."
Sorry if I sound like a troglodite, but I just can't get on board. Donating.
I don’t blame the Catholic Church from wanting to distance themselves from these writings.
"It should be noted that by it's very nature as a centered reflective collectivity, the Noosphere, while occupying the same spatial dimensions of the Biosphere, differs from it profoundly..."
Sorry if I sound like a troglodite, but I just can't get on board. Donating.
I don’t blame the Catholic Church from wanting to distance themselves from these writings.
Read
February 11, 2022Can we be serious? Surely no one believes that the human race is guided by the ethereal any more. Nor is it guided by some evolutionary theory propounded by a man who quite clearly is mesmerised by a belief in an almighty guide. The Vatican was quite right in restricting the publication of this mans skewed theories and views simply on the basis that we all know that Donald Duck is not real. I concede that it is tempting to believe in this gentleman in the hope that he might exist and might guide us to understand the theories of evolution. Hang on am I completely insane?
December 19, 2019
Teilhard expounds on the concepts he laid out in the Phenomenon of Man. While still intriguing and often surprising thoughts, it did tend to become repetitive by the end, as this was a collection of essays he created and not a solid line of development. His essay on the Development of the Noosphere was incredible.
April 16, 2019
Excellent!! Thought provoking, inspirational, bridges the gap between science and religion.
October 12, 2023
This collection of essays guides the reader through the major themes of Teilhard's most prescient ideas.
March 8, 2025
Teilhard is a visionary for the digital world we live in. When people realize this, the desire to be inspired by his thinking will shape and enlighten our thinking.
September 17, 2023
This was my first time reading Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and I did not expect the experience to remind me so much of reading Nietzsche. Partly due to the resounding tone of YES! that runs through it, and also the sense that I'm reading the words of someone who was intensely attuned to the zeitgeist.
Basically, way back in the 1940's, TDC was sending out the message that forces of compression and attraction are bringing our species together at an increasing rate, and this reality is calling upon us to make a choice; we either resist, and contribute to mechanization and discord, or we unify in affection and optimism through a "commonly held hope."
"We can progress only by uniting: this, as we have seen, is the law of Life. But unification through coercion leads only to a superficial pseudo-unity. It may establish a mechanism, but it does not achieve any fundamental synthesis; and in consequence it engenders no growth of consciousness. It materializes, in short, instead of spiritualizing. Only unification through unanimity is biologically valid. This alone can work the miracle of causing heightened personality to emerge from the forces of collectivity. It alone represents a genuine extension of the psychogenesis that gave us birth.
Therefore it is inwardly that we must come together, and in entire freedom.
But this brings us to the last question of all. To create this unanimity, we need the bond, as I said, the cement of a favouring influence. Where shall we look for it; how shall we conceive of this principle of togetherness, this soul of the Earth?
Is it to be in the development of a common vision, that is to say, the establishment of a universally accepted body of knowledge, in which all intelligence will join in knowing the same facts interpreted in the same way?
Or will it rather be in common action, in the determination of an Objective universally recognized as being so desirable that all activity will naturally converge towards it under the impulse of a common fear and a common ambition?
These two kinds of unanimity are undoubtedly real, and will, I believe, have their place in our future progress. But they need to be complemented by something else if they are not to remain precarious, insufficient and incomplete. A common body of knowledge brings together nothing but the geometrical point of intelligence. A common aspiration, no matter how ardent, can only touch individuals indirectly and in an impersonal way that is depersonalizing in itself.
It is not a tête-à-tête or a corps-à-corps that we need; it is a heart-to-heart.
This being so, the more I consider the fundamental question of the future of the earth, the more it appears to me that the generative principle of its unification is finally to be sought, not in the sole contemplation of a single Truth or in the sole desire for a single Thing, but in the common attraction exercised by a single Being.
For on the one hand, if the synthesis of the Spirit is to be brought about in its entirety (and this is the only possible definition of progress) it can only be done, in the last resort, through the meeting, centre-to-centre, of human units, such as can only be realized in a universal, mutual love. And on the other hand there is but one possible way in which human elements, innumerably diverse by nature, can love one another: it is by knowing themselves all to be centred upon a single ‘super-centre’ common to all, to which they can only attain, each at the extreme of himself, through their unity.
‘Love one another, recognizing in the heart of each of you the same God who is being born.’ Those words, first spoken two thousand years ago, now begin to reveal themselves as the essential structural law of what we call progress and evolution. They enter the scientific field of cosmic energy and its necessary laws."
Basically, way back in the 1940's, TDC was sending out the message that forces of compression and attraction are bringing our species together at an increasing rate, and this reality is calling upon us to make a choice; we either resist, and contribute to mechanization and discord, or we unify in affection and optimism through a "commonly held hope."
"We can progress only by uniting: this, as we have seen, is the law of Life. But unification through coercion leads only to a superficial pseudo-unity. It may establish a mechanism, but it does not achieve any fundamental synthesis; and in consequence it engenders no growth of consciousness. It materializes, in short, instead of spiritualizing. Only unification through unanimity is biologically valid. This alone can work the miracle of causing heightened personality to emerge from the forces of collectivity. It alone represents a genuine extension of the psychogenesis that gave us birth.
Therefore it is inwardly that we must come together, and in entire freedom.
But this brings us to the last question of all. To create this unanimity, we need the bond, as I said, the cement of a favouring influence. Where shall we look for it; how shall we conceive of this principle of togetherness, this soul of the Earth?
Is it to be in the development of a common vision, that is to say, the establishment of a universally accepted body of knowledge, in which all intelligence will join in knowing the same facts interpreted in the same way?
Or will it rather be in common action, in the determination of an Objective universally recognized as being so desirable that all activity will naturally converge towards it under the impulse of a common fear and a common ambition?
These two kinds of unanimity are undoubtedly real, and will, I believe, have their place in our future progress. But they need to be complemented by something else if they are not to remain precarious, insufficient and incomplete. A common body of knowledge brings together nothing but the geometrical point of intelligence. A common aspiration, no matter how ardent, can only touch individuals indirectly and in an impersonal way that is depersonalizing in itself.
It is not a tête-à-tête or a corps-à-corps that we need; it is a heart-to-heart.
This being so, the more I consider the fundamental question of the future of the earth, the more it appears to me that the generative principle of its unification is finally to be sought, not in the sole contemplation of a single Truth or in the sole desire for a single Thing, but in the common attraction exercised by a single Being.
For on the one hand, if the synthesis of the Spirit is to be brought about in its entirety (and this is the only possible definition of progress) it can only be done, in the last resort, through the meeting, centre-to-centre, of human units, such as can only be realized in a universal, mutual love. And on the other hand there is but one possible way in which human elements, innumerably diverse by nature, can love one another: it is by knowing themselves all to be centred upon a single ‘super-centre’ common to all, to which they can only attain, each at the extreme of himself, through their unity.
‘Love one another, recognizing in the heart of each of you the same God who is being born.’ Those words, first spoken two thousand years ago, now begin to reveal themselves as the essential structural law of what we call progress and evolution. They enter the scientific field of cosmic energy and its necessary laws."
December 22, 2013
Teilhard was trying to unite science and religion. Certainly Teilhard was able to develop a metaphysics that was far closer to physics than perhaps ever before, or at least since the Golden Age of Greek Philosophy. But after bringing science onto the stage of theosophy Teilhard does not make God more understandable scientifically, in fact he does the opposite. In his theories God is not essential, only helpful, as a unifying force for humanity. His thesis demands a purposeful Universe, but the elan vital that creates conscious life does not necessarily have to come from God. Teilhard's positivism resides in a Universe driven by purposeful evolution, of which humanity, the homo sapiens, is at the peak of the evolutionary process. If the evolutionary process is inspired and set going by God, it is not the same God as that of the Judeo-Christian tradition: there is no miracle here, God is subject to natural laws. Perhaps a God created those laws, but this is not the all omnipotent God that spoke to Abraham and Moses.
Of course Teilhard is not a Jew but a Christian-Catholic and his attempt to fuse Christianity and science comes out of the need for an ethical leap that will unite humanity peacefully in the process of globalisation that he saw to be inevitable. However, Christianity is too sullied by the power hierarchies that claim to represent it for it to ever be a viable motor ever again. Just as God is not needed to create the Universe, science also shows us that neither is God needed to provide a purposeful drive forward in the future. Such a drive can only come from "humanity" itself.
Of course Teilhard is not a Jew but a Christian-Catholic and his attempt to fuse Christianity and science comes out of the need for an ethical leap that will unite humanity peacefully in the process of globalisation that he saw to be inevitable. However, Christianity is too sullied by the power hierarchies that claim to represent it for it to ever be a viable motor ever again. Just as God is not needed to create the Universe, science also shows us that neither is God needed to provide a purposeful drive forward in the future. Such a drive can only come from "humanity" itself.
April 17, 2016
A collection of essays by Christian Trans-humanist, Teilhard de Chardin. Essays are form the late 1940s to the early 1950s and introduce Chardin's concept of the 'nooshpere', a developing layer of the earth which consists the minds of humanity... many have said that he was obviously predicting what we now know to be the internet. He also spells out some of the earliest visions of what is now known as the 'Singularity'.
February 17, 2009
traces the evolution of man through his earthly travels into the noosphere.
Read
April 15, 2010nonfiction,theology,evolution,Jesuit,science,philosophy
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June 7, 2014I have the 1964 edition translated by Norman Denny and published by Collins Fontana Books. Issued in 1969 by Fontana Religious Books.
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