Noogenesis
Encyclopedia
Noogenesis is the emergence of intelligent forms of life
. The term was first used by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
in regard to the evolution of humans. It also used in astrobiology
in regard to the emergence of forms of life capable of technology and so interstellar communication and travel.
in his first posthumously published book, The Phenomenon of Man (written during 1938–40, published in French: 1955; English: 1959, p. 181). Noogenesis, the emergence of mind
, follows geogenesis
(beginning of Earth), biogenesis (beginning of life) and anthropogenesis
(beginning of humanity), and is followed by Christ
ogenesis, the genesis of the "total Christ", or the pleroma
.
Noogenesis began with reflective thought; or with the first human beings. Teilhard believes that because human beings are self-reflective (i.e. self-conscious) they constitute a new sphere of existence on earth: the sphere of thought, or the noosphere
. The continued consolidation of all human thought into the noosphere is noogenesis. It is a continual increase in thought and consciousness brought about by the increased socialization of mankind on earth. As human beings continue to socialize, or as Teilhard says, "totalize" upon themselves, the more complex systems of communication and exchange they will form, thus increasing the consciousness of the noosphere. The socialization of mankind is nothing but an extension of the Law of Complexity/Consciousness
.
Teilhard imagines that noogenesis will eventually reach a critical point of consciousness, brought about by a maximum tension of human socialization. This critical point will serve to detach consciousness from time and space and to converge on Omega Point
. In these terms, noogenesis is a form of orthogenesis
, the progressive evolution of the universe due to some known or unknown force towards an ultimate goal.
noogenesis concerns the origin of intelligent life and more specifically technological civilizations capable of communicating with human
s and or traveling to Earth
. The lack of evidence for the existence of such extraterrestrial life
creates the Fermi paradox
.
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
. The term was first used by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere...
in regard to the evolution of humans. It also used in astrobiology
Astrobiology
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry,...
in regard to the emergence of forms of life capable of technology and so interstellar communication and travel.
Teilhard
Noogenesis is the fourth of five stages of evolution described by French Jesuit scientist and philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de ChardinPierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere...
in his first posthumously published book, The Phenomenon of Man (written during 1938–40, published in French: 1955; English: 1959, p. 181). Noogenesis, the emergence of mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
, follows geogenesis
Formation and evolution of the Solar System
The formation and evolution of the Solar System is estimated to have begun 4.568 billion years ago with the gravitational collapse of a small part of a giant molecular cloud...
(beginning of Earth), biogenesis (beginning of life) and anthropogenesis
Human evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
(beginning of humanity), and is followed by Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
ogenesis, the genesis of the "total Christ", or the pleroma
Pleroma
Pleroma generally refers to the totality of divine powers. The word means fullness from comparable to πλήρης which means "full", and is used in Christian theological contexts: both in Gnosticism generally, and by Paul of Tarsus in Colossians Colossians 2:9 KJV .Gnosticism holds that the...
.
Noogenesis began with reflective thought; or with the first human beings. Teilhard believes that because human beings are self-reflective (i.e. self-conscious) they constitute a new sphere of existence on earth: the sphere of thought, or the noosphere
Noosphere
Noosphere , according to the thought of Vladimir Vernadsky and Teilhard de Chardin, denotes the "sphere of human thought". The word is derived from the Greek νοῦς + σφαῖρα , in lexical analogy to "atmosphere" and "biosphere". Introduced by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 1922 in his Cosmogenesis"...
. The continued consolidation of all human thought into the noosphere is noogenesis. It is a continual increase in thought and consciousness brought about by the increased socialization of mankind on earth. As human beings continue to socialize, or as Teilhard says, "totalize" upon themselves, the more complex systems of communication and exchange they will form, thus increasing the consciousness of the noosphere. The socialization of mankind is nothing but an extension of the Law of Complexity/Consciousness
Law of Complexity/Consciousness
The Law of Complexity/Consciousness is the tendency in matter to become more complex over time and at the same time to become more conscious. The law was first formulated by Jesuit priest and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin....
.
Teilhard imagines that noogenesis will eventually reach a critical point of consciousness, brought about by a maximum tension of human socialization. This critical point will serve to detach consciousness from time and space and to converge on Omega Point
Omega point
Omega Point is a term coined by the French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to describe a maximum level of complexity and consciousness towards which he believed the universe was evolving....
. In these terms, noogenesis is a form of orthogenesis
Orthogenesis
Orthogenesis, orthogenetic evolution, progressive evolution or autogenesis, is the hypothesis that life has an innate tendency to evolve in a unilinear fashion due to some internal or external "driving force". The hypothesis is based on essentialism and cosmic teleology and proposes an intrinsic...
, the progressive evolution of the universe due to some known or unknown force towards an ultimate goal.
Astrobiology
In astrobiologyAstrobiology
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry,...
noogenesis concerns the origin of intelligent life and more specifically technological civilizations capable of communicating with human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s and or traveling to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The lack of evidence for the existence of such extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
creates the Fermi paradox
Fermi paradox
The Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations....
.