Vladimir Vernadsky
we look to the scientific discoveries of the great Russian-Ukrainian scientist V. I. Vernadsky, who developed and revolutionized a scientific understanding of the dynamics and differentiation of the Biosphere, Geosphere, and Noösphere. Throughout his work, we find a powerful argument for why processes on Earth, and in the Universe, are organized according to a top-down principle of life, and, even higher, human cognition — those being the connected envelops of living processes, non-living mechanical forces, and the emerging globally connected activity and influence of Human Civilization.
Vernadsky’s life’s work culminates in the investigation of the unique distinction of man from animal, something Vernadsky approached from the standpoint of a biogeochemist. Having immersed himself in the study of how life transformed the surface of the Earth, he marveled at the power of human creativity to do the same, but on a quantitatively and qualitatively higher level. In his paper “Some Words on the noösphere,” Vernadsky asked:
“How can thought change material processes? Here a new riddle has arisen before us. Thought is not a form of energy. How then can it change material processes? That question has not as yet been solved… as for the coming of the noösphere, we see around us at every step the empirical results of that “incomprehensible” process. That mineralogical rarity, native iron, is now being produced by the billions of tons. Native aluminum, which never before existed on our planet, is now produced in any quantity. The same is true with regard to the countless numbers of artificial chemical combinations (biogenic “cultural” minerals) newly created on our planet.”
Vernadsky also expressed his confidence in the noösphere, despite the World War which he found himself in the middle of, saying:
“At present we cannot afford to realize that, in the great historical tragedy through which we live, we have elementally chosen the right path leading into the noösphere. I say elementally, as the whole history of mankind is proceeding in this direction.”
While Vernadsky was keenly aware that man, through his thoughtlessness could damage the environment, he was confident that, relying on his powers of reason, he could effectively improve and enhance the environment with a power greater than any other force in the universe. While man, for example, through ruthless and unthinking exploitation, could turn gardens into deserts, through scientific thought, he could turn deserts into gardens. This, Vernadsky asserted, was the power of man’s scientific thought, and something that Vernadsky felt could only be seen in its full extent at the dawn of the 20th century. Man emerged from the Dark Ages by a significant transformation of thought during the Middle Ages that led to the Great Renaissance. Something like that is very much needed today.
Vernadsky is a scientist who profoundly believed that the scientific thought of man had itself become a geological force. In his scientific work, he shows that living matter, a relatively minute element in our surrounding and the largely inorganic universe, had indeed become the most powerful force in changing that underlying inorganic universe through its unique powers of transformation. He shows that so too, man, through the development of his scientific capabilities, is now becoming the most significant force in changing life on the planet, and through it, the underlying inorganic universe through its unique powers of transformation. He shows that so too, man, through the development of his scientific capabilities, is now becoming the most significant force in changing life on the planet, and through it, the underlying inorganic universe.
Further Reading of works by Vernadsky:
Problems of Biogeochemistry II inorganic universe.