The Evolutionary Process Leading Up to the Anthropocene as Seen Through Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s Cosmic Christology

Abstract

In the past few centuries, we have become increasingly aware that both the planet we inhabit and the life it contains share a long history. Due to the intervention of one of Earth’s species, Homo sapiens, the natural flow of the biosphere has been altered. Today’s climate crisis is so significant that a specific name has been coined in order to describe a whole new era: the Anthropocene. This state of affairs allows us to take a fresh look at the history of the Cosmos and its meaning. Here we dwell on a few key insights developed in the last century by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Christian paleontologist, thinker, and Roman Catholic priest. This starting point allows us to study the Anthropocene from a perspective in which science, philosophy, and theology converge. Our goal is to highlight Chardin’s evolutionary views in order to study the underlying ontological issue in depth.