History UsefulNotes / PierreTeilhardDeChardin

!!Appearances in fiction:

When he was twelve, Teilhard entered Notre Dame de Mongre near Villefranche-sur-Saone. During his five years there, as he neared graduation, he wrote to his parents that he intended to become a priest. He received a baccalaureate in 1897 and entered the Jesuit novitiate in Aix-enProvence two years later.

In 1901, due to an anti-clerical movement in the French Republic, the Jesuits and other religious orders were ousted from France, and the Aix-en-Provence novitiate transferred to Jersey a year later; before the move, Pierre took first vows in the Society of Jesus on 26 March 1902. In 1905, he was sent to Cairo, Egypt to do his teaching internship at the Jesuit college of St. Francis until 1908. After his tenure in Cairo, he served as a Scholastic at Ore Place in Hastings, East Sussex, where he acquired his theological formation. There, he synthesized his scientific, philosophical, and theological knowledge in light of the theory of evolution, having read ''Creative Evolution'' by the French idealist philosopher Henri Bergson and being greatly influenced by his ideas. On 24 August 1911, Teilhard was ordained a priest.

In 1937, Fr. Teilhard received the Mendel Medal at the Philadelphia Congress in recognition of his work in human paleontology. He also founded the Institute of Geobiology in Peking three years later, and he completed ''The Phenomenon of Man'', a major work of his in which he presents the fourfold sequence of the evolutionary process: galactic, earth, life, and consciousness. He developed a view drawing from both theology and science, that [[GoalOrientedEvolution the entirety of evolution, in every meaning from stellar to biological to societal, forms a process that ultimately leads to a union of mankind with God]]. This ultimate union, is the Omega Point. In 1941, Fr. Teilhard submitted this work to Rome for approval, but he was denied.

Reception from Christian thinkers on his essays was mixed, with praise from figures such as Cardinal Henri de Lubac, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis and criticism from others like C.S. Lewis, Jacques Maritain, Etienne Gilson, and Creator/DietrichVonHildebrand (Hildebrand wrote about how he and Fr. Teilhard were having a discussion, and it touched on St. Creator/AugustineOfHippo. Fr. Teilhard angrily shouted: "Don't mention that unfortunate man; he spoiled everything by introducing the supernatural."). In fact, the Church issued a monitum (warning) by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1962, cautioning on an uncritical acceptance of Fr. Teilhard's writings. That said, none of his writings were placed on the Index of Prohibited Books, and his spiritual dedication was not questioned.

On the other side, many scientific authorities accuse him of molding science to fit his religious faith and for his role in the so-called "Piltdown Man", which has since been revealed to be a paleoanthropological fraud initiated by Dawson himself (there were doubts about its authenticity from the very beginning, in 1912, but it wasn't until 1953, forty-one years later, that the "Piltdown Man" was proved to be a hoax). Stephen Jay Gould was one of the scientists who accused Fr. Teilhard of being a co-conspirator in the hoax, but paleontologist Dr. Kenneth Oakley, who corresponded with Fr. Teilhard about the Piltdown Man when it was exposed as a hoax, disavowed the essay. He even wrote a letter to the popular science mazagine ''New Scientist'' in response to an article by a Dr. L. Harrison Matthews and affirmed that Fr. Teilhard had no involvement in manufacturing the fraud; if anything, he was actually duped and set up to be the fall guy. Fr. Teilhard, for his part, wrote that he was pleased to hear of Dr. Oakley's confusions that the Piltdown Man was a forgery, "in spite of the fact that, sentimentally speaking, it spoils one of [his] brightest and earliest palaeontological memories..."

On the other side, many scientific authorities accuse him of molding science to fit his religious faith and for his role in the so-called "Piltdown Man", which has since been revealed to be a paleoanthropological fraud initiated by Dawson himself (there were doubts about its authenticity from the very beginning, in 1912, but it wasn't until 1953, forty-one years later, that the "Piltdown Man" was proved to be a hoax). Biologist Stephen Jay Gould in particular wrote an essay accusing Fr. Teilhard of being a co-conspirator in the hoax, but paleontologist Dr. Kenneth Oakley, who corresponded with Fr. Teilhard about the Piltdown Man when it was exposed as a hoax, disavowed the essay and affirmed that Fr. Teilhard had nothing to do with manufacturing the fraud; Fr. Teilhard even admitted to Dr. Oakley that he did not realize that he was duped

Reception from Christian thinkers on his essays was mixed, with praise from figures such as Cardinal Henri de Lubac, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis and criticism from others like C.S. Lewis, Jacques Maritain, Etienne Gilson, and Creator/DietrichVonHildebrand (Hildebrand wrote about how he and Teilhard were having a discussion, and it touched on St. Creator/AugustineOfHippo. Teilhard angrily shouted: "Don't mention that unfortunate man; he spoiled everything by introducing the supernatural."). In fact, the Church issued a monitum (warning) by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1962, cautioning on an uncritical acceptance of Fr. Teilhard's writings. That said, none of his writings were placed on the Index of Prohibited Books, and his spiritual dedication was not questioned.

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Fr. Teilhard worked as a stretcher bearer with the North African Zouaves. His regiment was involved in the battles at the Marne and Epres in 1915, Nieuport in 1916, Verdun in 1917, and Chateau Thierry in 1918. He himself was involved in every engagement, and he received many rewards, like the Levion d'Honneur in 1921.

On the other side, many scientific authorities accuse him of molding science to fit his religious faith and for his role in the so-called "Piltdown Man", which has since been revealed to be a paleoanthropological fraud initiated by Dawson himself (there were doubts about its authenticity from the very beginning, in 1912, but it wasn't until 1953, forty-one years later, that the "Piltdown Man" was proved to be a hoax). Biologist Stephen Jay Gould in particular accused Fr. Teilhard of being a co-conspirator in the hoax, but Fr. Teilhard's correspondence with paleontologist Dr. Kenneth Oakley has him acknowledging that he had been duped, and Dr. Oakley has responded, saying that the charges are erroneous and that Fr. Teilhard had nothing to do with manufacturing the fraud; Fr. Teilhard has since been exonerated of all involvement.

Fr. Teilhard continued his studies in paleontology between 1912 and 1915 in the laboratory of the Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle, in Paris, studying the mammals of the middle Tertiary period. During this time, he formed a digging team with Arthur Smith Woodward and Charles Dawson to perform investigations at the Piltdown site, where the fragments of the "Piltdown Man" were found.[[labelnote:About the "Piltdown Man"...]] [[/labelnote]]

Fr. Teilhard continued his studies in paleontology between 1912 and 1915 in the laboratory of the Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle, in Paris, studying the mammals of the middle Tertiary period. During this time, he formed a digging team with Arthur Smith Woodward and Charles Dawson to perform investigations at the Piltdown site, where the fragments of the "Piltdown Man" were found.[[labelnote:About the "Piltdown Man"...]] The so-called "Piltdown Man" was actually a paleoanthropological fraud initiated by Dawson himself. There were doubts about its authenticity from the very beginning, in 1912, but it wasn't until 1953, forty-one years later, that the "Piltdown Man" was proved to be a hoax. Biologist Stephen Jay Gould accused Fr. Teilhard of being a co-conspirator in the hoax, but Fr. Teilhard, who had corresponded with Dr. Kenneth Oakley acknowledging that he had been duped, has since been exonerated.[[/labelnote]]

Reception from Christian thinkers on his essays was mixed, with praise from figures such as Cardinal Henri de Lubac, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis and criticism from others like C.S. Lewis, Jacques Maritain, Etienne Gilson, and Creator/DietrichVonHildebrand (Hildebrand wrote about how he and Teilhard were having a discussion, and it touched on St. Creator/AugustineOfHippo. Teilhard angrily shouted: "Don't mention that unfortunate man; he spoiled everything by introducing the supernatural."). In fact, the Church issued a monitum (warning) by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, cautioning on an uncritical acceptance of Fr. Teilhard's writings. he kept writing. He developed a view drawing from both theology and science, that [[GoalOrientedEvolution the entirety of evolution, in every meaning from stellar to biological to societal, forms a process that ultimately leads to a union of mankind with God]]. This ultimate union, is the Omega Point.

On the other side, the scientific authorities tended to see his view of evolution as, ahem, unscientific or otherwise poorly understood. Yet, whether through his writings or merely as a unique persona, he remains a source of inspiration for writers of fiction and non-fiction both.

As a paleontologist, he took part in excavations of various early hominids (among them the Peking Man and the infamous hoax, "the Piltdown Man"), from Britain to Spain to China. He studied [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist geology, botany, and zoology]], earning a good understanding of paleontology and the theory of evolution, and on top of this he wrote theological essays on the relation of science to the doctrines of Christianity.

Though the stance of the Church authorities on his essays was invariably unapproving (Creator/DietrichVonHildebrand once came up to , he kept writing. He developed a view drawing from both theology and science, that [[GoalOrientedEvolution the entirety of evolution, in every meaning from stellar to biological to societal, forms a process that ultimately leads to a union of mankind with God]]. This ultimate union, is the Omega Point.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French [[RenaissanceMan Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher]].

Coming from a scientifically-minded family, he received a religious education on top of his scientific one, and became ordained as a priest while also working as a scientist and a science teacher. As a paleontologist, he took part in excavations of various early hominids (among them the infamous hoax, "the Piltdown Man"), from Britain to Spain to China. He studied [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist geology, botany, and zoology]], earning a good understanding of paleontology and the theory of evolution, and on top of this he wrote theological essays on the relation of science to the doctrines of Christianity.

Though the stance of the Church authorities on his essays were invariably unapproving, he kept writing. He developed a view drawing from both theology and science, that [[GoalOrientedEvolution the entirety of evolution, in every meaning from stellar to biological to societal, forms a process that ultimately leads to a union of mankind with God]]. This ultimate union, is the Omega Point.

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: He's probably the one single clergyman that the generally a-religious sci-fi holds in high regard, and any aversion of this trope that is specifically Catolic-themed is very likely to bring him up in one way or another.

* In Dan Simmons' ''Literature/HyperionCantos'', Teilhard de Chardin has been canonized a saint and there even is Pope Teilhard I, showing that the Catholic Church's opinion of him changed in the future.

More relevantly to TV Tropes, he was also a HistoricalDomainCharacter and a FountainOfExpies upon which about every single fictional scientifically-minded clergyman is ever based.

* TheSingularity: He was one of the pioneers of the concept, and is often referenced in discussions on it, although his idea of the Omega Point [[UnbuiltTrope had a rather unique take]] -- instead of "{{a God am I}}" or {{robot war}}s, it was more like "achieve a perfect union with God".