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Just to get this topic more off the ground, I'm going to work through
some of Teilhard's actual statements about this special inner energy
that he calls "radial" energy. As follows:
"The two energies--of mind and matter--spread respectively through
the two layers of the world (the within and the without)...
They are constantly associated and in some way pass into each other...Between
the within and the without of things, the
interdependence of energy is incontestable."
[Phenomenon of Man, p. 64.]
"We shall assume that, essentially, all energy is psychic in nature...
divided into two distinct components: a tangential energy, which links
the element with all others of the same order...and a radial
energy which draws it towards ever great complexity and centricity--in
other words forwards."
[Ibid, p. 25.]
"...by the very fact of the individualization of our planet, a
certain mass of elementary consciousness was originally emprisoned in
the
matter of earth...To form an idea of the first phases of this evolution
it will be enough to compare, stage by stage, on the one
hand the general laws we have felt able to lay down for the development
of this *spiritual* energy...We have said that spiritual energy, by
its very nature, increases in 'radial' value, positively, absolutely,
and
without determinable limits, in step with the increasing chemical complexity
of which it represents the inner lining. "
[Ibid, p.72]
"...since I have admitted a much earlier origin...to the first
lineaments of immanence within matter, it is incumbent on me to
explain in what specific way the internal ('radial') energy is modified
to correspond with the external ('tangential') constitution of the
cellular unit...by a *metamorphosis*...the cellular revolution should
express itself psychically. But how?...Are there several ways for
a creature to have a *within?*"
[Ibid, p. 88.]
"I would say there were a good many ways for a being to have a
'within.' A closed surface, irregular at first, may become *centered.*
A circle can augment its order of symmetry and become a sphere. Either
by arrangement or the parts or by the acquisition of another
dimension, the degree of 'interiority' of a cosmic element can undoubtedly
vary to the point at which it rises suddenly on to another level. "
[Ibid, p. 89.]
"The essence of the real...could well be represented by the 'interiority'
contained by the universe at a given moment. In that case evolution
would fundamentally be nothing else than the continual growth of this
'psychic' or 'radial' energy, in the course of duration,
beneath and within the mechanical energy I call 'tangential,' which
is practically constant on the scale of our observations..."
[Ibid, p. 143.]
"...what...would the mechanical energies themselves be without
some *within* to feed them? Beneath the 'tangential' we find the
'radial'. The impetus of the world, glimpsed in the great drive of consciousness,
can only have its ultimate source in some *inner*
principle, which alone could explain its irreversible advance towards
higher psychisms."
[Ibid, p. 149.]
"By their very nature, and at every level of complexity, the elements
of the world are able to influence and mutually to penetrate each
other by their *within,* so as to combine their 'radial energies' in
'bundles'...this psychic interpenetrability grows and becomes directly
perceptible in the case of organized beings."
[Ibid,. p. 239.]
"By death, in the animal, the radial is reabsorbed into the tangential,
while in man it escapes and is liberated from it. It escapes from
entropy by turning back to Omega: the *hominisation* of death itself...
The universe is a collector and conservator, not of mechanical
energy...but of persons. All round us, one by one, like a continual
exhalation, 'souls' break away, carrying upwards their incommunicable
load of consciousness. One by one, yet not in isolation. Since, for
each of them, by the very nature of Omega, there can only be one possible
point of definitive emersion--that point at which, under the
synthesizing action of personalizing union, the noosphere...will reach
collectively its point of convergence--at the 'end of the world.' "
[Ibid, p. 272.]
Comments: Mainly I think that what Teilhard seems to be talking about
is an underlying spiritual energy or intelligence that propels
the outer world. And integrated into this, he talks about this spiritual
energy or intelligence lodged within each soul.
These above ideas are nearly Stoic---indeed more broadly Hellenic--in
that those ancient Greek philosophers referred to our being a
"microcosmos," a carrier of the *spermatikos logoi,* the seeds
of Reason or the Logos. Whereas the inner lining of the Macrocosmos
*is* the Logos!
Historically this idea was transferred into Christianity by that religion's
own philosophers. Terms might have changed, but
this ancient idea is still there. Rather than the Logos-Pneuma, read
the Holy Spirit. Rather than the microcosmos endowed
with the *spermatikos logoi,* read the Soul endowed with the seeds of
the Spirit.
The ancients, Hellenic or Christian, believed that the Logos was the
Ground of Being. For Teilhard this "radial" energy
(the Ground, the Within) is the *inner lining* of the outer (Without)
world. Yet Teilhard shifts some, when he moves
from the greater cosmic level to our own planet. As he puts: "...by
the very fact of the individualization of our planet, a
certain mass of elementary consciousness was originally emprisoned in
the matter of earth..."
It's at this point that I think Teilhard is taking a well-worn philosophical
and religious idea and trying to move it into the
scientific realm. And he wants us to consider that this "spiritual
energy" increases "in step with the increasing
chemical complexity of which it represents the inner lining."
What Teilhard seems to be doing at this point is showing that the *spermatikos
logoi* can only be proportional to the
development of the brain matter that hosts it. In a sense, this spiritual
energy is dependent upon the evolution of Matter--
which is the DIVINE MILIEU! In other words, the "Divine" is
dependent upon its expression via the level(s) which its
organic host has attained.
Quoting Teilhard:
"The essence of the real...could well be represented by the 'interiority'
contained by the universe at a given moment. In
that case evolution would fundamentally be nothing else than the continual
growth of this 'psychic' or 'radial' energy, in the
course of duration, beneath and within the mechanical energy I call
'tangential'..."
[Phenomenon of Man, p. 143.]
Teilhard is talking about the medium of Matter being a *seedbed* for
the Divine! It's like the spread of biological
media expanding, moving forth unto ever more complex levels. And it's
here that Teilhard injects his "Law of Complexity-
Consciousness." It's all kind of mathematical, proportionate.Consciousness--which
is the Divine, that "radial" energy--is
dependent upon the Complexity of its host for its expression!
The REAL for Teilhard (I believe) is the Logos, the Ground of Being,
so familiar to the early Christian philosophers who were schooled in
this classical teaching. Earlier classical teachers employed philosophical
interpretations to all this, whereas Teilhard is
attempting to interpret the Logos in scientifically evolutionary terms!
He simply is aiming for a more modern and updated
explanation, employing his scientific background and mixing it with
his culturally inherited religious views.
Teilhard asks:
"...what...would the mechanical energies themselves be without
some *within* to feed them? Beneath the 'tangential' we find the
'radial'. The impetus of the world, glimpsed in the great drive of consciousness,
can only have its ultimate source in some *inner*
principle, which alone could explain its irreversible advance towards
higher psychisms."
[Ibid, p. 149.]
That *inner* principle is the Logos, the Ground, the Divine for Teilhard.
And this Great Principle is engaged in an incredible
drama, wherein it is part of a dynamic process advancing toward "higher
psychisms." It is the Dynamo forging more and more
capable hosts--needed for its expression---that compose the Milieu in
which somehow the Divine is dependent.
Now Teilhard is hopeful, actually seemingly confident, that a slowly
developing result in all this process will be "convergence."
Hence,
he says:
"By their very nature, and at every level of complexity, the elements
of the world are able to influence and mutually to penetrate each
other by their *within,* so as to combine their 'radial energies' in
'bundles'...this psychic interpenetrability grows and becomes directly
perceptible in the case of organized beings."
[Ibid,. p. 239.]
With this we begin to see the rise of units, tribes, societies, cultures,
and civilization. There seems a *plan,* if you will. And in the end,
when the hosts' molecules dissolve, they will have done their duty as
"consciousness points." As Teilhard so nicely puts it:
"The universe is a collector and conservator, not of mechanical
energy...but of persons. All round us, one by one, like a continual
exhalation, 'souls' break away, carrying upwards their incommunicable
load of consciousness. One by one, yet not in isolation. Since, for
each of them, by the very nature of Omega, there can only be one possible
point of definitive emersion--that point at which, under the synthesizing
action of personalizing union, the noosphere...will reach collectively
its point of convergence--at the 'end of the world.'"
[Ibid, p. 272.]
A quick review as I continue my own understanding of Teilhard's radial
energy. As put by the Jesuit:
"...Beneath the 'tangential' we find the 'radial'. The impetus
of the world, glimpsed in the great drive of consciousness, can only
have its ultimate source in some *inner* principle, which alone could
explain its irreversible advance towards higher psychisms."
[Ibid, p. 149.]
And my earlier response (to repeat) was...that this *inner* principle
is the Logos, the Ground, the Divine for Teilhard. And
this Great Principle is engaged in an incredible drama, wherein it is
part of a dynamic process advancing toward "higher psychisms."
It is the Dynamo forging more and more capable hosts--needed for its
expression---that are the Milieu in which somehow the
Divine is dependent.
It would seem to be getting somewhat strange at this point, but don't
give up and think I've landed in SciFi world. Much more
mushy, you can unearth nearly the same kind of thinking in our world
religions. Only they use ancient scripture, avatars, prophets,
visions, and archaic cosmologies. In a way, this idea of a Centre, a
Logos, a Spirit, a God interacting in its Creation is nothing but
strange! But we humans seem to be very much attracted to this strangeness.
Our intuition seems pretty consistent about holding
onto this strange kind of thinking.
Teilhard certainly follows the same line-of-thinking, though he is
trying to *re-vitalize* it by connecting such with science and
evolutionary cosmogenesis. Like so many before and after him, Teilhard
has faith in and holds a deep commitment towards this
strange thought that has persistently swirled around in our heads for
millennia.
But in the midst of this strange thought, of a Centre underlying the
world we know, mingling into our minds, spawning more and
more consciousness, we seem to have the freedom to ask questions, even
deny the existence of this Centre. And we undoubtedly have the freedom
to employ our particular expression of Consciousness in ways that most
certainly are *NOT* spiritual nor religious. There's no denying that
we have employed our conscious capacities in the most despicably wrongful
ways. So this leads to questions about Who or What might be this perceived
Divine, this Centre, this Logos?
If we are hosts, more appropriately expressions--consciousness points--for
the Divine working in this world, how can we have such freedom and engage
in dreadful activities? It would seem there's either a "disconnect"
or we have to reinterpret what the Divine might mean for us. We may
have to face it one day, that we may have to remove the Divine up and
out of a religious/spiritual context. We may be dealing with a Universal
Reality, a Cosmic Force, that is amoral.
Yet we consciousness points do seem to be not only a seedbed for the
Divine, but also a moral battleground. We do struggle to be
better, to be "good." Maybe this perceived freedom seemingly
to disconnect, to make wrong turns, might really be connected with our
physical condition and level of abilities. It could be that the unfolding
of our capacities remains still in its infancy. We might term this situation
as impoverishment, but Teilhard thinks rather that we are still in the
"process of becoming." With just that, he flips the coin from
a negative into a positive. In the end, this concern about morality
may be more about our level of maturation than about the Divine.
Still there's the question remaining as to why the Divine is carrying
forth with this incredible cosmic project. What's the point? Yes,
as Teilhard thinks, we souls return our conscious experience back to
the Centre. But why? Is this a God that is using Creation as a
playground, or as an experiment? What's going on? Perhaps the Divine
needs *experience,* conscious experience? If God is Complete and Whole,
totally Fulfilled, why the need for more conscious understanding or
experience?
I can't answer those questions, nor can anyone else. We can speculate--and
oft spend a lot of time doing so. All we can do is
feel the contours of that famous elephant. In the past we have had to
make do reflectively, philosophically. What Teilhard would seem
to want to do is add a new approach aided by scientific endeavors.
If possible, than I suspect it will be via Consciousness and Cognitive
Studies. And is it surprising that it is this field that seems the new
rising star of Science? Still, like other disciplines in Science, this
new field will face serious challenges as well as conflict within its
ranks. As Einstein once put it: "the hardest thing to understand
is why we can understand anything at all."
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