Teilhard de Chardin: Science, Theology, and the Medieval Synthesis

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2014
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Haverford College. Department of Religion
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Thesis
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
Questions of cosmology and human identity are among the most pressing and fascinating areas of inquiry, and they are shared by people in all times and cultures. Perhaps the two most influential approaches to these questions in the Christian West are those of Catholic theology and modern science. These two perspectives offer answers that appear to be very different, and by the beginning of the twentieth century widespread belief had developed that the two approaches were incompatible, if not mutually exclusive. Jesuit priest and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) did not agree that the approaches and conclusions of science and theology were incompatible on the issue of cosmology. In The Human Phenomenon (written 1938-40; French publication 1955; English publication 1959) and other works, Teilhard laid out a bold vision for reconciling scientific and theological perspectives. Though Teilhard's thought was labeled dangerous and rejected by the Catholic Church during his lifetime, his work actually displays considerable resemblance to ancient and celebrated patterns of theology: specifically, the perspectives of medieval theology. In this thesis I will argue that in his effort to resolve the contemporary debate between theological and scientific cosmological and epistemological paradigms, Teilhard looked back beyond the Enlightenment to a time when religion and science were part of a unified worldview, and modeled his synthesis upon elements of this pre-modern perspective. Using Teilhard's treatment of human origins as a focal point, I will break down the argument presented in The Human Phenomenon, analyze its constituent parts, and explain the continuities and discontinuities of his thought with the perspectives of modern science, contemporary theology, and medieval theology and cosmology. In this way I will attempt to understand the methodology and the sources that underlie Teilhard's creative solution to the dilemma between religious and scientific modes of inquiry and knowledge. Teilhard's work has exerted a significant effect upon the development of modern scientific and theological thought, and identifying its roots in the medieval perspective not only gives valuable insight into present-day science and Christianity, but also underlines the constructive potential of medieval thought and the history of theology as sources for solutions to the problems of the modern world.
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