Il fenomeno umano

I’ll start this review by asking: How prescient can one person be? Completing this book in 1940, de Chardin could not have predicted the Internet, but if you read about his concept of the “noosphere,” you realize that if he were alive today (b. 1881; d. 1955) he would look at the Internet and say “T Leggi tutto

Although he was a priest, in France he is best known for his work in paleontology, when he was a curator in the Museum of Natural History in Paris. He has rendered the subject of evolution easily accessible to all, and his point of view complements that of Darwin in many ways. For example: His Chapte Leggi tutto

Teilhard de Chardin was both a Jesuit priest and a paleontologist. He found that his scientific work supported his beliefs as a priest. His argument is of a stunning simplicity. -1- matter organizes itself towards life -2- life organizes itself towards Christ -3- earthly matter has only transformed its Leggi tutto

This book intends to describe the past and future evolution of life. Many of the scientific concepts expressed in the first half of the book have been superseded by more recent developments. For me, the main interesting concept in the book is the assertion that human consciousness is an aspect of evolut Leggi tutto

In spite of the three star rating, I do think this book is absolutely worth reading, and reading again. Chardin was an ordained Jesuit priest, but also a trained paleontologist who worked with the team that discovered the “Peking Man” fossils so just from those factors alone, the book is a must read Leggi tutto

This was great reading in the first and third parts of the book…though the middle almost killed me with its technicality. In the early 20th century, Pierre Teilhard became a forerunner in integrating evolution with a theistic worldview, but the greatest import of his work was that he took a dead-eye Leggi tutto

Essential reading for anyone interested in evolution, theology, or philosophy in general. I personally approached it more interested in its spiritual concepts, so I found a fair portion of the middle of the text rather slow and inaccessible due to its focus on the scientific specifics of evolution ( Leggi tutto

I've known Teilhard de Chardin's name and influence even long before I became interested in religion myself, and this book was a long time in coming. And a long time in finishing, it just didn't woo me. His prose is stronger than his argument. His science is not up to modern standards, but nor in man Leggi tutto

I read this years ago and I remember it blowing my mind. However, I was not as knowledgeable about certain scientific subjects as I am now so I do believe a re reading is in order. I have forgotten most of the book but there are certain images that have stuck with me throughout my life. The idea of

It is a tragedy that Teilhard de Chardin was not allowed to publish or teach his ideas in his lifetime. His work is so steeped in a deep understanding of paleontology and evolutionary biology that it holds up remarkably well today, even if the sections of this book that deal with those particular to Leggi tutto