Intellectual and Spiritual Heritage of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin from the Perspective of Contemporary Bioethical Issues

Even in the last century it was unusual for a Jesuit to dedicate one of his works to those "who love the world". This dedication is less strange when it comes to the French philosopher; theologian, paleontologist, mystic, priest and poet, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. He even writes, in a note to his work Le Milieu Divin, that his work is appropriate for those with "turbulent spirits inside and out". This spirit is Teilhard's "supernaturalized" man, a man who, thanks to the psychological evolution that occurs through integration of science and spirituality and the interaction of human thoughts and relations, is taking the world toward noosphere. In that way humankind is making progress in spiritual way, in consciousness, morality, creativity, forms of community, intelligence, tranquility, and tolerance. The principle of that progress is love. It is about improving consciousness and growing awareness of the responsibility, a step forward that relies on the power of the human mind in interaction with the spirit (with art and beauty). This progress does not imply nor is directed only to human activity (scientific-technological development), but to mindedness and sensitivity. Teilhards's ideas and theory of spiritually oriented evolutionary process visionary precedes many modern phenomena, such as sustainable development, neuroethics, ecotheology, and bioethics. His vision of progress and human role in the progress can serve or it can be interpreted as a historical and scientific background of the mentioned disciplines and phenomena, a touch of the historical world in the new one.