Tradition
Russian cosmism
Overview
Russian cosmism (Russian: Русский космизм), or simply cosmism, is a philosophical and cultural movement that emerged in late 19th- and early 20th-century Russia, integrating science, religion, and metaphysics into a unified worldview. It is characterized by the belief in humanity's cosmic destiny, the potential for immortality, and the use of scientific and technological advancements to achieve control over nature and explore space.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a burst of scientific investigation into interplanetary travel, largely driven by fiction writers such as Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, which would influence philosophical movements like Russian cosmism. The movement was also influenced by Eastern Orthodox thought, Russian philosophy, and advancements in natural sciences. Key figures in Russian cosmism include Nikolai Fedorov, who advocated for the abolition of death and resurrection of ancestors through scientific means; and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, whose work in astronautics and space travel laid the foundations for modern cosmonautics. Other notable thinkers, such as Vladimir Vernadsky and Alexander Chizhevsky, contributed ideas on the noosphere, biosphere, and cosmic influences on human life.
Although suppressed during the Soviet era, cosmism influenced Soviet space exploration, transhumanism, and later philosophical movements. In the 21st century, Russian cosmism has gained renewed interest, particularly in discussions on space colonization, technological immortality, and the role of humanity in the universe.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
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Happiness thus means perfection, and perfection a completely universalized individual. The motive toward the moral life is elsewhere stated to be love; and love is defined as interest in perfection, and hence culminates in love of God, the only absolute perfection. It also has its source in God, as the origin of perfection; so that Leibniz says, Whoso loves God, loves all.
John Dewey, Leibniz's New Essays Concerning the Human Understanding
States what Russian cosmism is.
In these four cases, the primal need of food and drink was enough to set events in motion; but as this need could only be satisfied by conquest, the four secondary passions must have very soon come into play. In the conquests of modern industrialism, the secondary passions have been almost wholly dominant, since those who directed them had no need to fear hunger or thirst. It is the potency of vanity and love of…
Bertrand Russell, The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism
States what Russian cosmism is.
Thirty years afterwards, the matter became an object of considerable experimental and theoretic work in France, at the rival schools of Paris and Nancy; and the question, mainly under the title of hypnotism, though the older name is still occasionally heard, has been for several years brought prominently under public notice.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Hegel's Philosophy of Mind
States what Russian cosmism is.
Philosophers who discussed Russian cosmism
Related ideas
- Western philosophy
- Eastern philosophy
- Immortality
- Russian philosophy
- Eastern Orthodoxy
- Cosmology
- Metaphysics
- Russian Empire
- October Revolution
- Russia
- Religion
- Science
- Soviet Union
- Solar System
- Transhumanism
- Natural philosophy
- Alexander Bogdanov
- Cosmos
- Russian Orthodox Church
- Cultural movement
- Panpsychism
- Vladimir Solovyov (philosopher)
- Communism
- Evolution
Place in the tradition
Part of Russian philosophy.