“Monism of the Universe” is a philosophical treatise by K. E. Tsiolkovsky , originally published in 1925 in Kaluga at the expense of the author in a limited edition of 2000 copies [1] .
Contents
Tsiolkovsky declares his commitment to materialism and exact science (mentioning Darwin and Lamarck ). At the same time, he claims that the cosmos is an “endless and complex mechanism” in which “every particle of the Universe” has “responsiveness” or “sensitivity” (the ability to sense). Therefore, “the whole Universe is alive,” and Tsiolkovsky classifies himself as a “ panpsychist .” His worldview is distinguished by emphasized optimism . If the " brain and soul " are mortal, then their constituent atoms are immortal and capable of recovery. Moreover, " death ceases all suffering and gives, subjectively, immediately happiness." There is also a limit of existence for the sun, the Milky Way and the “ ethereal islands ” (a group of hundreds of thousands of spiral nebulae ), but the Universe as a whole is immortal. Tsiolkovsky describes his worldview as monism , which is understood as “uniformity in structure”. It assumes the existence of life on other planets, which arose from the same necessity as on Earth ( spontaneous generation ). As for the fate of mankind, Tsiolkovsky believes in the emergence of a “happy social system” when all people unite and stop waging wars among themselves. At the same time, the population will increase, life will improve, and a person will learn to control the climate and travel to other planets. Tsiolkovsky has high hopes for the latest vehicles: on airplanes, airships and "jet devices", as well as on "interstellar ships." The sun will be surrounded by “heavenly colonies” or “artificial dwellings” created from asteroids . An excess population from Earth will be sent to these colonies. Tsiolkovsky predicts the emergence of a new type of man (“higher being”), who will dwell on interplanetary ether and feed directly on solar energy. Further, the renewed and transformed humanity will go to explore (colonize) the Milky Way in the interests of Reason .