Next Sunday's Class, Feb. 15
Hi to All:
We'll discuss Chapter 5, pp. 87-102, on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Here are some issues and questions to ponder to prepare for our discussion.
1. First, let's start at the end of the chapter and work our way to the beginning. Let's start on P. 101, last Parag. and continue through p. 102, the last page of the chapter. Geering says that Teilhard still has some relevance. Your thoughts about the relevance of Teilhard and about his irrelevance?
2. P. 99, first full Parag. Shades of Startrek! But who knows what the next 100 years will bring!? In the 1950s, laser beams were the stuff of sci-fi movies and novels. Now, they're in our daily lives. Wi-Fi was unknown 30 years ago; now it is a household word. And the list of inventions keeps on getting longer. Be not surprised if the phrase "Beam me up, Scotty!" becomes a reality in the next 100 years. Complexification and higher levels of consciousness is where we're headed, according to Teilhard; that is, unless we become extinct by our own volition. Your thoughts?
3. P. 98. Geering writes about Teilhard's idea for which he coined the word "noogenesis", which means 'reflection', i.e., thought turned in upon itself. Teilhard proposed that human beings are headed toward a future time in which the world, by means of complexification, would be enveloped in a "noosphere," pure thought by which means humans, the whole world over, can make things happen, such as world peace. Your comments? (See also p. 99, lines 3-10)
4. Pp. 96-97. Geering traces Teilhard's thinking about the evolutionary process. Teilhard's notion of "cosmic drift" resulted in a strand of primates developing a brain that could "know that it could know," known as homo sapiens. Where do you think the evolutionary process will lead us, spiritually? Your comments?
5. Pp. 92-94. How does Teilhard include Jesus Christ into his system of thinking? (See also p. 89). Specifically, what is the "Cosmic Christ"? How does Teilhard transcend dualism in his system of thinking?
6. Pp. 90-91. Teilhard was a Catholic priest, who saw things differently from the dogmatic views of the Vatican. What was the Vatican's response to Teilhard's thinking?
7. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin spoke and wrote as a religious man of faith and as a scientific man of faith. Do you think his thoughts and writings should be taken seriously or not? If taken seriously, which ones? Please comment. (See also the sentence at the end of the chapter, p. 102)
8. Finally, please bring to class your favorite passage from this chapter (or the last one about Carl Jung), and we'll discuss it until time runs out.
Last Sunday you exceeded my expectation about the discussion being "robust, perky and sizzling". On a scale of 1 to 10, I give you a big 10...and a hug for good measure! Best wishes and hasta domingo, Ben
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