It seems like he comes up all the time in random sets of connections: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. He was a Jesuit priest, theologian and also a paleontologist who did most of his prominent work in the 40’s and 50’s, I think. I don’t know a ton about him yet, but the contexts in which he’s mentioned are always really interesting. Apparently, one of the people he had a big influence on was media theorist Marshall McLuhan. I just found an old article from Wired about Teilhard that gives a nice overview and introduction to his work. There are a bunch of different trails to follow with learning about him, but one I’m interested in is his ideas about evolution, and about different types of energy.

Teilhard would later codify this force into two distinct, fundamental types of energy - “radial” and “tangential.” Radial energy was the energy of Newtonian physics. This energy obeyed mechanistic laws, such as cause and effect, and could be quantified. Teilhard called radial energy the energy of “without.” Tangential energy, on the other hand, was the energy of “within,” in other words, the divine spark.

Teilhard described three types of tangential energy. In inanimate objects, he called it “pre-life.” In beings that are not self-reflective, he called it “life.” And in humans, he called it “consciousness.” As Teilhard began to observe the world described by science, he noticed that in certain things, such as rocks, the radial energy was dominant, while the tangential energy was barely visible. Rocks, therefore, are best described by the laws that rule radial energy - physics. But in animals, in which tangential energy, or life, is present, the laws of physics are only a partial explanation. Teilhard concluded that where radial energy was dominant, the evolutionary process would be characterized by the traditional scientific laws of necessity and chance. But in those organisms in which the tangential energy was significant, the forces of life and consciousness would lead the laws of chance and natural selection.