Ben Crenshaw
asked:
Hello. I have been reading some of Pierre de Chardin's books this year. I have heard the quote "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; but spiritual beings having a human experience" attributed to him and that it is from The Phenomena of Man. However, that quote does not appear in that work. Does anyone know the exact source for that quote?
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Ray
Wikiquotes has the following entry regarding this "quote:"
[Disputed]
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.
This is attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in The Joy of Kindness (1993), by Robert J. Furey, p. 138; but it is attributed to G. I. Gurdjieff in Beyond Prophecies and Predictions: Everyone's Guide To The Coming Changes (1993) by Moira Timms, p. 62; neither cite a source. It was widely popularized by Wayne Dyer, who often quotes it in his presentations, crediting it to Chardin, as does Stephen Covey in Living the 7 Habits : Stories of Courage and Inspiration (2000), p. 47
Variant: We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.
The above "quotation" can be considered a paraphrase of Hegel's dictum that matter is spirit fallen into a state of self-otherness.
[Disputed]
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.
This is attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in The Joy of Kindness (1993), by Robert J. Furey, p. 138; but it is attributed to G. I. Gurdjieff in Beyond Prophecies and Predictions: Everyone's Guide To The Coming Changes (1993) by Moira Timms, p. 62; neither cite a source. It was widely popularized by Wayne Dyer, who often quotes it in his presentations, crediting it to Chardin, as does Stephen Covey in Living the 7 Habits : Stories of Courage and Inspiration (2000), p. 47
Variant: We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.
The above "quotation" can be considered a paraphrase of Hegel's dictum that matter is spirit fallen into a state of self-otherness.
Duane Roberts
In some important ways, when we discuss attribution details we often loose sight of the truths in the idea: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings…". Therein is the crux of the concept. Can we ever experience God solely by either physical or spiritual senses? It seems de Chardin might be testing the thought that we are both spiritual and earthly beings...that life has purpose beyond worldly pursuits. This is what I like about his writing. He provokes my thinking and thereby helps enlighten me as I study all truth.
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