What is the noosphere? Vernadsky's doctrine of the noosphere

The doctrine of the noosphere unites many paradigms from seemingly having little in common disciplines: philosophy, economics, geology. What is unique about this concept?

History of appearance

The French scientist-mathematician Eduard Leroy in 1927 was the first to tell the world about what is the noosphere in his publications. A few years earlier, he had listened to several lectures by outstanding Russian scientist Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky concerning problems in the field of geochemistry (and also biogeochemistry). The noosphere is a special state of the biosphere, in which the human mind plays a key role. Man, using intelligence, creates a "second nature" along with the existing one.

However, at the same time, it is in itself a part of nature. Therefore, the noosphere is still the result of evolution, proceeding according to the following chain: the development of the planet - the biosphere - the appearance of man - and, finally, the emergence of the noosphere. At the same time, according to researchers Vernadsky, there is no clear answer to the question: "Does the noosphere already exist, or does it just have to appear?" The scientist at the same time suggested that at the time when his granddaughter becomes an adult, the human mind, his creative principle, will most likely bloom and reveal himself to the fullest. And this can become an indirect sign of the appearance of the noosphere.

Vernadsky's conception

Vernadsky's doctrine of the noosphere, as scientists believe, was associated with the very site of "evolution", when the biosphere turns into the noosphere. Vladimir Ivanovich in his book "Scientific Thought as a Planetary Phenomenon" writes that the transition from the biosphere to the noosphere is possible when scientific thought influences this process.

In addition, the researchers note, Vernadsky singled out several conditions for the appearance of the noosphere. Among them, for example, the complete population of the planet by people (and in this case there will simply not be room for the biosphere). It is also the improvement of the means of communication and information exchange between people from different parts of the planet (and this is already due to the Internet). The noosphere can arise when the geology of the Earth will be more dependent on man than on nature.

Concepts of scientists-followers

Scientists of various fields, having learned the teachings of Vernadsky and his associates about what the noosphere has created, have created several concepts that develop the initial postulates of the Russian researcher. In the opinion of AD Ursula, for example, the noosphere is a system where the moral mind, values associated with the intellect, humanism will manifest themselves in the first order. In the noosphere of Ursula, humanity lives in harmony with nature, in a mode of joint participation in evolutionary processes.

If Vernadsky's doctrine of the noosphere implies a predominant disappearance of the biosphere, then, as modern researchers note, today's authors' concepts contain the thesis that the noosphere and the biosphere will most likely exist simultaneously. One of the possible criteria for the presence of the noosphere - according to the version of modern scientists - can be the achievement of the limit of human development, the maximum level of improvement of socio-economic institutions. There is an imperative of higher moral and cultural values.

The connection between the noosphere and man

Man and noosphere are connected in the most direct way. It is thanks to the actions of man and the direction of his mind that the noosphere appears (Vernadsky's teaching speaks precisely of this). There is a special era in the development of the geology of the planet. Man, creating a specific environment for himself, takes some of the functions of the biosphere. People replace the natural, that which is already in nature, artificial. There is an environment where a significant role is played by technology.

There are landscapes created also with the help of people controlled by various types of machines. Is it true to say that the noosphere is the sphere of the human mind? A number of researchers believe that human activity does not always depend on understanding how the world works. People tend to act, experiment, make mistakes. Reason, if you adhere to this concept, will soon be a factor in improving technology as such, but not a condition for rational impact on the biosphere with the goal of turning it into the noosphere.

Anthroposphere and the technosphere

The theory of the noosphere in works of a number of scientists is closely intertwined with two other terms. Firstly, it is the "anthroposphere". The concept denotes the role and place of a person, as well as his activities in space. Anthroposphere is the aggregate of the material spheres of life of the planet, for the development of which only man is responsible. Secondly, it is the "technosphere". There are two interpretations of the essence of the term. According to the first, this phenomenon is a special case of the interpretation of the anthroposphere.

The technosphere is a set of areas of human activity, in which technology is involved. It can be either the planet itself or the cosmos. According to the second interpretation, the technosphere is that part of the biosphere that changes due to human technological intervention. There are, by the way, a group of scientists who identify the technosphere and the noosphere, but there are researchers who understand the technosphere as an intermediate link between the biosphere and the noosphere.

Noospheric Thinking

Along with the concept of "noosphere" there is a term associated with a special type of thinking. He appeared relatively recently. It's about noosphere thinking. According to a number of researchers, it is characterized by several specific features. The most important of them is a high degree of criticality. Next - the inner installation of a person to improve the biosphere, to create material benefits that contribute to this. An important part of noospheric thinking is the priority of the public above personal (especially in solving scientific problems). This is the desire to solve unusual and unresolved problems. Another component of noospheric thinking is the desire to understand the essence of the processes that take place in nature and society.

Noospheric education

Among scientists, there is an opinion that not every person is predisposed to noospheric thinking from nature. Many people do not even know what the noosphere is. However, the researchers believe, a person can be taught the art of mastering this type of thinking. This should happen within the so-called noospheric education. The main emphasis in teaching here is placed on the capabilities of the human brain.

According to theorists of noospheric education, people should learn to stimulate the emergence of positive aspirations, a desire for harmony with the world around them, a desire to understand the objective nature of the processes taking place in society. If the positive aspiration, as the creators of this concept believe, to bring to politics and solving economic problems, then humanity will make a huge step forward.

The concept of Teilhard de Chardin

In the treatise "The Phenomenon of Man", the French scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin put forward several philosophical concepts that affect the phenomenon of the noosphere. Briefly describe them as follows: a person has become not just an object of evolution, but also its engine. According to the concepts of the scientist, the main source of the mind is reflection, the person's ability to know himself. The theory of Teilhard de Chardin and Vernadsky's concept are united by the hypothesis of the appearance of man. Both scientists believe that people have become special and different from other living beings because of their self-awareness. The fundamental difference in the understanding of the noosphere according to Teilhard de Chardin's version is that he operates with categories such as "superman" and "cosmos".

When the biosphere can become a noosphere

The doctrine of the noosphere is closely connected with the biosphere. As was said above, the transition from one sphere to another can occur in a mode of special evolution. According to a common definition, the biosphere is a system that ensures the life of the planet. It inhabits living organisms, their activities affect the turnover of various elements and chemicals. In the course of natural evolution, the biosphere has prepared a springboard for the emergence of human civilization: people have used agricultural crops, minerals.

In the course of development, in turn, of human civilization, they acquired the tools by means of which they had the opportunity to influence the biosphere. Among scientists there is a version that for a while this influence was insignificant - the people's needs accounted for no more than 1% of the biosphere resources. But as this figure increased, the imbalance developed: the biosphere gradually lost the ability to provide the person with everything needed completely. People were faced with the need to receive what the biosphere could not provide, independently. And when this amount of self-sufficiency will be such that a person ceases to use the resources of the biosphere, then the noosphere will appear.

The value of the doctrine of the noosphere for science

Vernadsky's doctrine of the noosphere very seriously affected the comprehension of civilizational processes among researchers of a variety of professions. Knowing what the noosphere is (or at least approximating itself to an understanding of this phenomenon), modern scientists have at their disposal a valuable tool that allows them to construct models for the development of the planet in the future. Approximately how Vernadsky managed to do that, in fact, predicted the appearance of the Internet and some socio-economic achievements. Concepts about the noosphere of the early 20th century give modern scientists the key to understanding evolution. The very first signs, indicative of the possible emergence of the noosphere, were on Earth already during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic times. Since then, human activity associated with the impact on the biosphere has only increased. A powerful impulse for the transformation of the biosphere to the noosphere was the industrial revolution in the 19th century, today the Internet is no less influential. It is possible that mankind is waiting for even more sophisticated means of communication and technology.