김성민 Seongminne Kim

DOI:10.23151/simseong.2025.40.2.055 Vol.40(No.2) 55-119, 2025

Modern civilization, propelled by science and technology, has achieved remarkable progress but simultaneously faces crises of meaning, ecological destruction, and existential anxiety. Both Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit paleontologist, and C. G. Jung, a depth psychologist, confronted this situation by proposing transformative visions of human destiny. To overcome the crisis of modern society Teilhard articulated the evolutionary goal of the Omega Point, while Jung emphasized the psychological process of individuation. Teilhard envisioned the cosmos as directed toward ever-greater complexity and spiritualization. For him, evolution culminates in the Omega Point, a transcendent state of ultimate spiritualization and unity in God. Humanity is called not to despair in temporary regressions of history but to cooperate with the divine dynamic of evolution, moving toward its consummation. In contrast, Jung approached the crisis of modernity from the perspective of depth psychology. He argued that the traditional Trinitarian image of God was inadequate for the modern unconscious and proposed instead a quaternity that includes the element of evil. Individuation―the integration of unconscious and consciousness―constitutes the path toward realizing the divine archetype within the self. For Jung, the transformation of humanity begins with the inner transformation of the individual. Teilhard de Chardin and C. G. Jung, though emerging from distinct intellectual traditions, converge on a shared conviction: humanity must move beyond static conceptions of God toward a dynamic, participatory image of the divine. Teilhard’s Omega Point and Jung’s individuation, each in its own way, articulate humanity’s call to wholeness and completion. Their visions, when read together, suggest that the future of civilization depends not only on scientific and technological progress but also on a deep spiritual transformation that unites the individual and the cosmos in the fulfillment of divine purpose.

현대 사회의 위기, 진화, 오메가 포인트, 개성화, 자기, 사위일체, 신의 이미지, Crisis of modern society, Evolution, Omega point, Self, Quaternity, Individuation, Image of God