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Russian cosmism (Russian: Русский космизм), or simplycosmism, is aphilosophical andcultural movement that emerged in late 19th- and early 20th-centuryRussia, integratingscience,religion, andmetaphysics into a unified worldview.[1] It is characterized by the belief in humanity’s cosmic destiny, the potential forimmortality, and the use of scientific and technological advancements to achieve control over nature andexplore space.[2]
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a burst of scientific investigation into interplanetary travel, largely driven by fiction writers such asJules Verne andH. G. Wells, which would influence philosophical movements like Russian cosmism.[citation needed] The movement was also influenced byEastern Orthodox thought,Russian philosophy, and advancements in natural sciences. Key figures in Russian cosmism includeNikolai Fedorov, who advocated for the abolition of death and resurrection of ancestors through scientific means; andKonstantin Tsiolkovsky, whose work in astronautics and space travel laid the foundations for moderncosmonautics. Other notable thinkers, such asVladimir Vernadsky andAlexander Chizhevsky, contributed ideas on thenoosphere,biosphere, and cosmic influences on human life.
Although suppressed during the Soviet era, cosmism influencedSoviet space exploration,transhumanism, and later philosophical movements. In the 21st century, Russian cosmism has gained renewed interest, particularly in discussions onspace colonization, technological immortality, and the role of humanity in the universe.[citation needed]
Cosmism entailed a broad theory ofnatural philosophy, combining elements ofreligion andethics with a history and philosophy of theorigin,evolution, and future existence of thecosmos andhumankind. It combined elements from bothEastern andWestern philosophic traditions as well as from theRussian Orthodox Church.[3]
The Culture of Health is the basic science aboutSpiritual Humanity. It studies the perspectives of harmonious development ofSpiritual man andSpiritual ethnos as a conscious creator of theState of Light into the territory of the Solar System
Cosmism was one of the influences onProletkult, and after theOctober Revolution, the term came to be applied to "...the poetry of such writers asMikhail Gerasimov andVladimir Kirillov...: emotional paeans to physical labor, machines, and the collective of industrial workers ... organized around the image of the universal 'Proletarian', who strides forth from the earth to conquer planets and stars."[6] This form of cosmism, along with the writings ofNikolai Fyodorov, was a strong influence onAndrei Platonov.[4]
Many ideas of the Russian cosmists were later developed by those in thetranshumanist movement.[4]Victor Skumin argues that theCulture of Health will play an important role in the creation of a human spiritual society into theSolar System.[7][8]
Russian cosmism can be divided into two categories: scientific and philosophical.[9] While the scientific branch is naturalistic, the philosophical branch is mystical and metaphysical, yet both branches are inherently spiritual. This is particularly evident among early Russian cosmists who followed in the footsteps of spiritual thinkers likeFyodorov andSolovyov. For a more nuanced categorization, there is often a third category mentioned by scholars: the artistic branch.[10]
Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov (1828–1903) is regarded as the father of Russian cosmism and its most representative figure. The major idea associated with Fyodorov is the philosophy ofHumankind's Common Task, which meant "to regulate the forces of nature, to defeat death and bring ancestors back to life so that they too would participate in the general resurrection."[11]
This idea was so central to his philosophy that "whatever topic he wrote about, Fedorov brought in his main idea of the Common Task—how to achieve universal brotherhood, rationalise nature instead of merely exploiting her bounties, overcome death, resurrect the ancestors and create a united humanity worthy of governing the universe."[12] The sense of urgency for uniting for a common task is a theme that exists in one way or another in the works of all Russian cosmists.
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Alexander Scriabin, who was inspired by the Russian cosmist ideas of his day, sought to unite humanity for a common task much like Fyodorov. He can be regarded as the most representative member of the artistic branch of Russian cosmism.[13] Scriabin's vision was to use artistic means to achieve Cosmist ends. His artistic vision, which was grounded in philosophy and spirituality, can be most clearly observed in his projectMysterium.
In 1881, Russian revolutionary and rocket pioneerNikolai Kibalchich proposed an idea of pulsedrocket propulsion by combustion of explosives,[14] which was an early precursor forProject Orion.[15][16]
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) was among the pioneers of theoreticalspace exploration andcosmonautics. In 1903, Tsiolkovsky published the first serious scientific work on space travel. His work was essentially unknown outside theRussian Empire, but inside the country it inspired further research, experimentation and the formation of the Society for Studies of Interplanetary Spaceflight.[17] Tsiolkovsky wrote a book called "The Will of the Universe; Unknown Intelligent Forces" in which he propounded a philosophy ofpanpsychism. He believed humans would eventually colonize theMilky Way. His thought preceded the Space Age by several decades, and some of what he foresaw in his imagination has come into being since his death. Tsiolkovsky did not believe in traditional religious cosmology, but instead he believed in a cosmic being that governed humans.[18]
Alexander Bogdanov (1873–1928) was a Russian and later Soviet physician, philosopher, science fiction writer, and Bolshevik revolutionary. His wide scientific and medical interests ranged from universal systems theory to the possibility of human rejuvenation throughblood transfusion. He saw heterochronic blood transfusions as an alliance of solidarity between the generations, where the old benefited from the rejuvenating effects of the young blood, while the young received immunities from the elders' blood. Ironically, he died as a result of a hemolytic transfusion reaction. His successors put Russia in the forefront of the development of centralized national blood transfusion services.[19]
Other cosmists includedVladimir Vernadsky (1863–1945), who developed the notion of anoosphere, andAlexander Chizhevsky (1897–1964), pioneer of "heliobiology" (study of the sun's effect on biology).[20][21][22] Aminor planet,3113 Chizhevskij, discovered bySoviet astronomerNikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1978, is named after him.[23]
Russian paleontologist and sci-fi writerIvan Yefremov developed the ideas of cosmism and concluded thatcommunism was a necessary structure for any future society which wants to survive in space. The successor of the traditions of Ivan Yefremov was geologist and sci-fi writer Alexander Shalimov. The astrophysicistNikolai Aleksandrovich Kozyrev was the discoverer of Lunar tectonic activity (1959) and author of Causal Mechanics/Theory of Time.[citation needed]
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