Attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
«'We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.'»
Misattributed
Verdict
It is not in Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's work
It is the most widely circulated saying under his name and it appears in none of his published writings. It was popularised in American self-help literature of the 1990s, without a source; some also attribute it to G. I. Gurdjieff or Wayne Dyer. It matches neither his vocabulary nor his thought, which does not oppose spirit and human experience.
What they did say
Verified words of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
«To see. One could say that the whole of Life lies in that, if not finally, at least essentially.»
Le Phénomène humain, prólogo «Voir»
«To be more is to be more united: such will be the summary and the very conclusion of this work.»
Le Phénomène humain, prólogo «Voir»
«Man, not the static centre of the World —as he long believed himself to be— but the axis and arrow of Evolution, which is far more beautiful.»
Le Phénomène humain, prólogo «Voir»