Current Status
Not Enrolled
Price
Free
Get Started

Contemplating the vision of the human evolutionary future
as seen by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

WHAT?Learning Circle
WHEN?Meets every two weeks
Tues, 8:30 AM Pacific
WHERE?Online Via Zoom

Facilitated by Dr. Ernie Tamminga, this discussion group will evaluate how (and whether) Teilhard de Chardin’s hope-filled perspective on the human evolutionary future can still inspire us in a time full of conflicts and division. Two years ago we began with a facilitated study of his masterwork, The Human Phenomenon. (Its title was originally translated into English as The Phenomenon of Man, back when it was common to refer to humanity as “Man.” That has been corrected in more recent editions of the book.)

Next we read Ilia Delio’s Why AI Needs Religion, and Raimon Panikkar’s The Experience of God. In September, 2023 we began our study of Panikkar’s The Rhythm of Being.

Teilhard remains the “kernel” of our ongoing study, though we are pondering works by other authors as well. Teilhard rejected the Dualism of classic Western thought, and developed instead what he called an “evolutionary monism.” He maintained that consciousness is a fundamental property — the “inner dimension” — of the universe. Its complexification into reflective consciousness in ourselves marks an evolutionary breakthrough: the emergence of a noosphare in which our planet will eventually come to “know itself.” The dynamic force powering this emergence, Teilhard says, is love — not a sentimental fantasy but evolution’s inbuilt impetus. Like consciousness, Love flowers into self-awareness over evolutionary time.

Teilhard himself was a professional paleontologist as well as a Jesuit priest, and The Human Phenomenon was his attempt to synthesize his scientific knowledge with his intense spirituality. Was he naïve, or prophetic, or both? Let’s talk about that!

“Right at its base, the living world is constituted by consciousness clothed in flesh and bone. From the biosphere to the species is nothing but an immense ramification of psychism seeking for itself through different forms.”

About the Facilitator

Ernie Tamminga has been reflecting on Teilhard’s vision for over 50 years. He earned his PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where for five years he was a member of Raimon Panikkar’s graduate seminar in Cross-Cultural Religious Anthropology. His dissertation was an analysis and critique of Teilhard’s notion of a “privileged axis” of evolution.

Ernie is a trained Spiritual Director, and a member of the board of the American Teilhard Association. For 20 years he was a member of the board and teaching faculty of Stillpoint: The Center for Christian Spirituality. A Long Time Ago, he was a board member of “The Phenomenon of Man Project,” a nonprofit that offered retreats and presentations centered on the vision of Teilard de Chardin. He describes himself as a “planet empath.” He and his wife have, between them, 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, a fact that intensifies his sense of urgency about what we are doing to our beloved planet.

How to Join/Access

To access the Zoom meeting information and learning circle resources you must (1) have an account, (2) be logged in, and (3) be enrolled.

Are you already logged in?
If you’re already logged in, you should see a button labeled Enroll in Group near the top of this page. Just click on the button, and you will be automatically enrolled and sent a confirmation email.

Have you joined a class or made donation before?
If you’ve participated in a class or given a donation previously, then you already have an account and can join by clicking on the Login to Enroll button near the top of the page. After you log in you will be automatically enrolled and sent a confirmation email.

Don’t have an account?
If you don’t have an account, click on the Register an Account button below. After you complete the registration process, click on the Enroll in Group button above. You will then be enrolled and sent a confirmation email.