Pierre Teilhard of Chardin

Biography

Pierre Teilhard of Chardin was born with Orcines, in the castle of Sarcenat (Puy-de-Dôme, France) on May 1st 1881, and died the day of Easter 1955 with New York.

In 1899 it enters to the noviciate Jesuit of Aix-en-Provence. In 1911 it is ordered priest after four years of theological seminar in Great Britain. It joined in 1912 the Muséum of natural history of Paris and works there with Marcellin Boule, paleontologist which had studied the first whole skeleton of a Homme of Néandertal. Between 1914 and 1919, mobilized as stretcher-bearer with the face in the 8th regiment of walk of Rifleman S Morrocans (Military decoration and Legion of honor), it works out a draft of its thought via its newspaper and its correspondence with Marguerite Teilhard-Chambon, her cousin.

In 1916, it publishes its first test, the Cosmic Life , and in 1919, spiritual Puissance of the Matter , tests which announce its later work.

From 1922 with 1926, it obtains in Sorbonne three natural certificates of science degree: Botanical Geology, and Zoology, then supports its thesis of doctorate on the Mammifères of the French lower Eocene and their layers .

It accomplishes a first voyage in China in 1923 for the Muséum of natural history of Paris. In the Deserted of Ordos, Teilhard writes its Messe on the World . Return of China, teaching with the catholic Institute, it is seen dislocated its functions following a bearing text on the Original sin which causes its first disorders with the the Vatican: the order of the Jésuites requires of him to give up teaching and to continue its research geological S in China. It there goes back in 1926 and plays, with the German paleoanthropologist Franz Weidenreich, an active role in the discovery of the Sinanthrope and its scientific study. It takes part in 1931 in the yellow Croisière. To its installation in New York in 1951, Teilhard of Chardin will continue a punctuated scientific career of many study trips: Ethiopia (1928), the United States (1930), India (1935), Java (1936), Burma (1937), Beijing (1939 with 1946), South Africa (1951 & 1953).

It was shown by Stephen Jay Gould to be the person in charge of the Fraude of the Homme of Piltdown, role which proved thereafter perfectly minor.

In 1946, the Teilhard Father is promoted Officer of the Legion of Honor under the Foreign affairs in recognition of its brilliance work in China.

It enters in 1950 to the Academy of Science.

Pierre Teilhard of Chardin dies the April 10th 1955, Easter Day, with New York. One year earlier, during a dinner with the consulate of France, he entrusted to friends: “I would like to die the day of Resurrection”.

From 1955 to 1976, its work is published in posthumous title by Jeanne Mortier of which it made its leading heiress as for her work says not scientist. This work occupies thirteen volumes:

- the Human Phenomenon , (1955)
- Appearance of the Man , (1956)
- Vision of Last the , (1957)
- Divine Medium , 1957
- Future of the Man , (1959)
- Human energy , (1962)
- the Activation of Energy , (1963)
- the Place of the Man in Nature , (1965)
- Science and Christ , 1965
- How I believe , (1969)
- Directions of the Future , (1973)
- Écrits Time of the War , (1975)
- the Heart of the Matter , (1976)

Noosphère, Cosmic Christ and Not Omega

The theory of the evolution of Charles Darwin, the geology of Vernadsky and the Christian Théodicée are unified by Teilhard of Chardin in an approach holist of the " phenomenon humain" that it conceives like a stage of the evolution leading to the deployment of the Noosphère, which prepares the advent of the figure known as of the " Cosmique" Christ;.

The “Point Omega” is conceived like the pole of convergence of the evolution. The " Cosmique" Christ; proclamation avènenement of an era of harmonization of the consciences based on the principle of the " coalescence of the centres" : each center, or individual conscience, is brought to enter in cooperation increasingly closer with the consciences with which it communicates, those becoming in the long term a whole noospheric. The identification not homogenizing of the whole on the subject perceiving it involves an increase in conscience, whose Omega forms to some extent the center of attraction concerned on an individual scale as much as in the collective plan. The multiplication of the centers as relative images of the whole of the harmonized centers takes part in the advent of the spiritual Résurrection or théophanie of Cosmic Christ.

Announcing the globalization that we know today, Teilhard develops the concept of Noosphère which it borrows from Vernadsky for Concept ualiser a film of thought wrapping the Ground, formed of the human communications.

In addition, by locating creation in a “point Alpha” of time, the Man owes, according to him, to join God in a “Oméga point” of perfect Spiritualité.

The term of “Oméga point” was taken again by the American physicist Frank Tipler, apparently without allusion in the name of Teilhard (without one being able to say if it is deliberated, or by ignorance of its origin, or more simply because “that goes from oneself”).

Hominisation and humanization

Teilhard also thinks of parallel to identifying the biological evolution an evolution of the moral type: the affection for the offspring meets at the Mammifère S and not at the appeared Reptile S in an earlier way. The mankind, in spite of its accesses of sporadic violence, endeavors to develop increasingly elaborate networks of solidarity (Croix-Rouge of Dunant, Social security of Bismarck…): the physical evolution which led to the hominisation doubles according to him of a spiritual evolution which it names humanization . Wondering from which this addition comes from conscience, it also allots it to the growth Complexité of the nervous structures: the brain of the mammals is more complex than that of the reptiles, that of human more complex than that of the mice.

Evolution and organization

The evolution occurs then in its opinion in the possibility of the consciences of communicating the ones with the others and of creating de facto a kind of super-being: while grouping by the communication, the consciences will make the same qualitative jump as the molecules which while being assembled had abruptly passed of inert to alive the .

It is noticed that this super-being is without report/ratio none with the Surhomme Nietzsche in which Teilhard does not see that a too simple extrapolation of the past, and who does not hold no account of the phenomenon of increasing communication between the individuals ( “the caterpillar who questions its future thinks on-caterpillar” , will summarize Louis Pauwels in Blumroch admirable the ). For Teilhard, it is not already any more on the level of these only individuals that the process of evolution is carried out, and he dares even on this subject a lyric sentence:

“ Nothing in the universe could resist a sufficiently large number of grouped and organized intelligences ”.

And it not sees there God in construction , as before him Ernest Renan and - in a more sarcastic way - Sigmund Freud in the Future of an illusion - but the humanity which gathers to join God , in this hypothetical not omega who would represent de facto , and without sadness no, the end of time .

Position of the Holy See on work of Teilhard

The ideas of Teilhard seemed to consolidate the idea of “divine plan” often evoked by the Church since holy Augustin ( the city of God ). In addition, the idea of the evolution was then allowed as possible there assumption (it will be necessary to await the pontificate of Jean-Paul II so that she is regarded as “ more than an assumption ”). However, the Vatican identified a serious problem quickly:

the idea that the spirit of the man (his intelligence and his free will) can appear by a simple evolution of the matter is formally rejected by the catholic dogma. On the other hand, the opinions of Teilhard on the evolutionary origin of the body of the man are left with the free research of biology.

The remainder is about the theological discussion:

the Natural selection takes place by systematic elimination with each generation of the individuals who reproduce the least quickly by the individuals who reproduce most quickly (whatever are the causes).
this crushing is done in addition in the cruel indifference which terrified already Darwin in his time and had made him lose the faith.

The cruelty of the natural mantle was known since mists of time. On the other hand, one had attached it to the traditional problem of the Mal. To regard on the contrary as belonging to the divine plan , if there existed, constituted a total change of Paradigme.

This preparation of the happiness of the successors by the suffering of the predecessors seemed certainly close to the allowed ideas of Rédemption and Communion of the saints. The world which resulted from this appeared however well too isolated evangelic values and idea of divine Bonté to be accepted such as it is. It had always been much more convenient to allot the Mal world to works of Satan and not to a plan wanted by God itself.

The the Holy See thus required of Teilhard to suspend its publications, and registered with the Index until fuller informed what was already printed. It was in particular reproached to him for belonging to the Franc-maçonnerie.

In 1962, a monitum of the Holy Office warns against its ideas heretics: “Certain works of the P. Pierre Teilhard of Chardin, even of posthumous works, are published and meet a favor which is not negligible. Independently of the judgment carried on what concerns positive sciences, out of matters of philosophy and theology, it appears clearly that works pointed out above swarm with such ambiguities and even with errors so serious that they offend the catholic doctrines. Also EEm. and RRv Pères of Crowned the Congregation of the Holy Office exhort all them. Ordinary and Superiors of religious Institutes, Vice-chancellors of Seminars and Presidents of Université to defend the spirits, particularly those of the young people, against the dangers of the works of the P. Teilhard of Chardin and its disciples”.

Its works for the majority were published in a posthumous way. Teilhard had died in 1955.

They had a certain success in the Années 1960, then one started to forget his writings a little, even if its name were quoted time with other. Since Internet touched the general public, its concept of Noosphère seems to become again of topicality (Notoriété Google with 5 digits).

It is referred to Teilhard of Chardin in a certain number of recent works of all kinds, such as for example '' Cantos d' Hypérion ''.

Homages

One gave his name to several colleges and educational establishments, like the Lycée Teilhard-of-Chardin with Saint-Maur-of-Ditches.

The Place Teilhard of Chardin, to Paris, bears also its name.

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