Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Philosopher

• Gender: Male
• Citizenship: France
• Born: May 1, 1881
• Died: Apr 10, 1955

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 Peking Man. He conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of noosphere.

Many of Teilhard's writings were censored by the Catholic Church during his lifetime because of his views on original sin. However, in July 2009, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said: "By now, no one would dream of saying that [Teilhard] is a heterodox author who shouldn’t be studied." and he has been praised by Pope Benedict XVI.

Teilhard de Chardin's paleontological work is uncontroversial amongst scientists, but his evolutionary theorizing is today outdated. Steven Rose wrote that "Teilhard is revered as a mystic of genius by some, but amongst most biologists is seen as little more than a charlatan." Teilhard's theological and philosophical writings have been read and thought about by very few biologists; those disparaging his work tend to be the more militant atheistic skeptics.