Phenomenon of Man

Phenomenon of Man

The Phenomenon of Man by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin is an old book relative to the others on these lists on the general topic of science versus religion. It was written in the 1930’s but was not published until the author died, 1955. The late publication was due to the Roman Catholic Church refusing its publication and witholding granting of an imprimatur on the work. The author combines in one person both of the domains on opposite sides of the chasm. He was a paleontologist, a scientist that studies fossils and evolution. But he was also a Jesuit priest and philosopher. Likewise, this work combines aspects of both domains. It describes the evolution of the entire biosphere (so a synthesis of conventional science uncommon for the early 20th Century) but also describes this continuing to the evolution of the noosphere (beyond the natural, the supernatural or divine). In his scheme, one fed into the other inseparably, and that is why we place this initially in the Bridge category of books. [146Sm’14]