Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov (; 9 June 1829 – 28 December 1903) was a Russian religious philosopher, futurologist, library scientist, and educator. He started the movement of Russian cosmismГиренок Ф. И. Космизм / / Новая философская энциклопедия / Ин-т философии РАН; Нац. обществ.-науч. фонд; Предс. научно-ред. совета В. С. Стёпин, заместители предс.: А. А. Гусейнов, Г. Ю. Семигин, уч. секр. А. П. Огурцов. — 2-е изд., испр. и допол. — Москва: Мысль, 2010. — . http://iph.ras.ru/elib/1527.html which was a precursor of transhumanism.
Fyodorov advocated radical life extension, physical immortality and even resurrection of the dead, using scientific methods.
He was called the "Socrates of Moscow."Семёнова С. Г. Философия воскрешения Н. Ф. Фёдорова // Фёдоров Н. Ф. Собрание сочинений: В 4 т. Том 1. He was referred to with respect and admiration by Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and V. S. Solovyov.Бердяев Н. А. Религия воскрешения («Философия общего дела» Н. Ф. Федорова) // Грёзы о Земле и небе. — СПб., 1995. — С. 164. His ideas influenced a diverse group of people, from early rocket scientists like Konstantin Tsiolkovsky to artists and composers, including Alexander Scriabin. He dreamed of resurrecting people, not wanting to be reconciled to the death of even one person. With the help of science, he intended to gather scattered molecules and atoms to "put them into the bodies of the fathers".
Fyodorov gave science a place next to art and religion in the Common Task of uniting humanity, including the dead, who must in the future be reunited with the living.Автор и ведущая Елена Ольшанская Философия общего дела Ed Tandy N.F. Fedorov, Russian Come-Upist Originally published in Venturist Voice, Summer 1986. Revised by R. Michael Perry in 2003. He held that "we can become immortal and godlike through rational efforts and that our moral obligation is to create a heaven to be shared by all who ever lived." He was a devout member of the Russian Orthodox Christian Church, but was never a clergyman.
Biography He was born on 26 May (7 June) 1829 in the village of , Tambov Province (now Sasovsky District, Ryazan Oblast, Russia). As the illegitimate son of Prince Pavel Ivanovich Gagarin (1798–1872) he received the surname of his godfather.
It is known that he also had an older brother, Alexander (with whom he was brought up and educated together until 1851) and three sisters.Мусский И. А. Сто великих мыслителей. — М.: Вече, 2009. — С. 282. — 428 с. — (Сто великих). —
His mother was Elisaveta Ivanova Makarova, a woman from the minor Russian nobility.https://ruskline.ru/monitoring_smi/2003/06/01/otec
In 1836 he was admitted to the district school, in 1842 in the , after which in 1849, he entered the cameral department of the Lyceum Richelieu in Odessa, where he studied for two years, then was forced to leave the Lyceum because of the death of his uncle Konstantin Ivanovich Gagarin, who paid the tuition fees.В. В. Зеньковский ошибочно указал, что Фёдоров учился на юридическом факультете и в течение трёх лет. см. И. Г. Михневич. Сочинения. — С. 16.
In 1854 he received a teacher's certificate in the Tambov gymnasium and was appointed teacher of history and geography at the Lipetsk district school.
From October 1858 he taught at the Borovsky School in Tambov Province. Then he moved to Bogorodsk Moscow province and soon to Uglich Yaroslavl province, from where he went to Odoev, then to Bogoroditsk Tula province.
From November 1866 to April 1869 N. F. Fedorov taught at Borovsky district school. At this time he became acquainted with , one of the teachers at Leo Tolstoy's school in Yasnaya Polyana. Because of his acquaintance with Peterson, he was arrested in the Dmitry Karakozov case, but was released three weeks later.
From July 1867 to April 1869 he gave private lessons in Moscow, to Mikhailovsky's children.
In 1869 he got a job as assistant librarian in , and from 1874 for 25 years he worked as a librarian of the Rumyantsev Museum, in the last years of his life – in the reading room of the of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the Rumyantsev Museum Fyodorov was the first to compile a systematic catalog of books. There after three o'clock in the afternoon (closing time of the museum) and on Sundays there was a discussion club, which was attended by many prominent contemporaries.
Fyodorov led an ascetic life, tried not to own any property, gave away most of his salary to his "fellows," refused increases in salary, and always walked.
Fedorov refused to be photographed and would not allow his portrait to be painted. One image of Fedorov was made secretly by Leonid Pasternak; another was made in 1902 by the artist Sergei Korovin, apparently in absentia.
Fyodorov opposed the idea of property of books and ideas and never published anything during his lifetime. His selected articles were printed posthumously with the title Philosophy of the Common Task (also known as Philosophy of Physical Resurrection).
He died in the winter of 1903 of pneumonia in a shelter for the poor.Cosmism russias religion for the rocket age , BBC, 20.04.2021 He was buried in the cemetery of the .
In 1930 as a part of the his grave and all other graves in the monastery were destroyed by the Soviet Union.
Philosophy Fyodorov was a futurist, who theorized about the eventual perfection of the human race and society (i.e., utopia), including radical ideas like immortality, revival of the dead, space and ocean colonization. He was an adamant defender of universalism and wanted universal rather than particular immortality and resurrection through something he called the common task of humanity. He was a strong advocate of ancestor worship and saw people's genealogical and social relationships as reflecting their value and was critical of individualism as making people expendable. He was a strong advocate of religion and saw the Common Task as the proper interpretation of Christianity.
Humankind's Common Task According to Fyodorov, "the aim of true progress can and must be the participation in a common task."Fedorov, Nikolai. 1990. What Was Man Created For? The Philosophy of the Common Task. Lausanne: Honeyglen Publishing/L'Age d'Homme, p. 56. For him, the Common Task 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."Elisabeth Koutaissoff and Marilyn Minto. "Introduction". In What Was Man Created For? The Philosophy of the Common Task. Lausanne: Honeyglen Publishing/L'Age d'Homme, p. 12. 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."Elisabeth Koutaissoff and Marilyn Minto. "Introduction". In What Was Man Created For? The Philosophy of the Common Task. Lausanne: Honeyglen Publishing/L'Age d'Homme, p. 18.
Fyodorov argued that evolutionary process was directed towards increased intelligence and its role in the development of life. Humanity is the culmination of evolution, as well as its creator and director. Humans must therefore direct evolution where their reason and morality dictate. Fyodorov also argued that mortality is the most obvious indicator of the still imperfect, contradictory nature of humanity and the underlying reason for most evil and nihilism of humankind. Fyodorov stated that the struggle against death can become the most natural cause uniting all people of Earth, regardless of their nationality, race, citizenship or wealth (he called this the Common Task).
Fyodorov thought that death and afterdeath existence should become the subject of comprehensive scientific inquiry, that achieving immortality and revival is the greatest goal of science, and that this knowledge must leave the laboratories and become the common property of all: "Everyone must be learning and everything be the subject of knowledge and action".
Renewable energy and ecological engineering Fyodorov was an advocate of climate engineering. He praised an 1891 Russian military experiment in cloud seeding using explosives in response to the Russian famine of 1891–1892. Fyodorov argued that this could transform humanity as militaries could be directed towards a Common Task rather than violence. He described cloud seeding as being analogous to irrigation for sky rivers, and that the proper Christian way was to do this redirection, and objections on the basis of this going against the will of God were foolish.Philosophy of the common task Part 1 §1
Fyodorov argued that adoption of renewable energy was a moral obligation, to stop workers from being exploited in mining. He particularly mentioned iron and coal mining, and taking energy from solar power and wind power.Philosophy of the common task Part 1 §3 Fyodorov said that Man does not live in harmony with nature but that this is a common urban delusion brought about by lack of contact with nature.Philosophy of the common task Part 1 §4
Two reasons for death
Human life, emphasized Fyodorov, dies for two reasons. First is internal: due to the material organization of a human, his or her functionality is incapable of infinite self-renewal. To overcome this, psychophysiological regulation of human organisms is needed. The second reason is the unpredictable nature of the external environment; its destructive character must be overcome with the regulation of nature. Regulation of nature, "introducing will and reason into nature" includes, according to Fyodorov, prevention of natural disasters, control of Earth's climate, fight against viruses and epidemics, mastery of solar power, space exploration and unlimited creative work there.
Immortality for all Achieving immortality and resurrection of all people who ever lived are two inseparable goals, according to Fyodorov. Immortality is impossible, both ethically and physically, without resurrection. We cannot allow our ancestors, who gave us life and culture, to remain buried, or our relatives and friends to die. Achieving immortality for individuals alive today and future generations is only a partial victory over death – only the first stage. The complete victory will be achieved only when everyone is resurrected and transformed to enjoy immortal life.
Ancestor veneration He was an advocate for veneration of the deadPhilosophy of the common task Part 2 §1 and saw it as being the foundation of true religion, he linked it to God referring to himself as the God of the fathers. He saw a common ancestry and common personal relationships and genealogical relations between people as serving a foundation for their social participationPhilosophy of the common task Part 1 §10 likewise he saw people who identified as individuals independent of their ancestors as being easily manipulated by outside forces He linked this to the Christian concept of the son of man and saw the common project of humanity as transforming all into great men.
He criticized progressivism as a narcissistic view by younger generations against their ancestors.Philosophy of the common task Part 1 §15
He criticized socialism on the basis that it was based on material benefits of association of replaceable individuals in contrast with his system of resurrection where by contrast all people based on their familial links were irreplaceable.Philosophy of the common task Part 1 §19
As an extension of this ancestor focus Fyodorov saw great issue with the decline of graveyards connected to churches in favor of standalone cemeteries and advocated making graveyards in universities. This has been linked to cryonics by some commentators although he predated the movement.
Restoring life and making it infinite