Editing Noosphere (section)

==Concept==

In the theory of [[Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky|Vernadsky]], the noosphere is the third in a succession of phases of development of the Earth, after the [[geosphere]] (inanimate matter) and the [[biosphere]] (biological life). Just as the emergence of life fundamentally transformed the geosphere, the emergence of human [[cognition]] fundamentally transforms the biosphere. In contrast to the conceptions of the [[Gaia hypothesis|Gaia theorists]], or the promoters of [[cyberspace]], Vernadsky's noosphere emerges at the point where humankind, through the mastery of nuclear processes, begins to create resources through the [[Nuclear transmutation|transmutation]] of elements. It is a study area of the [[Global Consciousness Project]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Consciousness Project—consciousness, group consciousness, mind |url=http://noosphere.princeton.edu/ |access-date=24 July 2012 |website=Noosphere.princeton.edu}}</ref>

For [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin|de Chardin]], the noosphere emerges through and is constituted by the interaction of human minds. The noosphere has grown in step with the organization of the human mass in relation to itself as it populates the Earth. As mankind organizes itself in more complex [[social network]]s, the higher the noosphere will grow in awareness. This concept extends Teilhard's [[Law of Complexity/Consciousness]], the law describing the nature of evolution in the universe. Teilhard argued the noosphere is growing towards an even greater integration and unification, culminating in the [[Omega Point]] - an apex of thought/consciousness - which he saw as the goal of history.