Philosophical ideas Fyodorov laid the foundations of a
worldview capable of opening new ways of understanding
humanity's place and role in the universe. Unlike many who tried to construct a universal planetary and cosmic worldview based on Eastern religions and occult ideas about the world, Fyodorov considered himself a deeply religious Christian. He believed that the medieval worldview was untenable after the
Copernican Revolution, which opened the cosmic perspective to man. But the main thing, according to Fyodorov, in the teachings of Christ – the message of the coming bodily resurrection, the victory over the "last enemy," that is, death – he kept unshaken, putting forward the idea that this victory would be accomplished with the creative efforts and labor of Humanity united in a fraternal family. Fyodorov at the end of the 19th century already foresaw what in the second half of the 20th century became known as "ecological global problems" and "ecological thinking. He put forward the idea of transforming the regular army from an instrument of death and destruction into a weapon against the destructive elements of nature – tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts, floods – which today cause billions of dollars of damage to humanity every year. Today's science is already capable in principle of provide the means to combat these elements, and the main factor on which the solution of these problems depends, is the fragmentation of mankind, lack of reason and goodwill. However, according to the Christian worldview, the presence of natural disasters is not evidence of the disunity of mankind, but of the corruption of human nature as a consequence of the fall into sin. Fyodorov is called a philosopher of memory and
homeland studies. In his works many pages are devoted to history and culture, both Russian and world. He repeatedly expressed his views on the study and preservation of the cultural heritage of the past, did much for the development of local history in pre-revolutionary Russia, and stood up for overcoming the historical forgetfulness, the retail of generations. Fyodorov was a religious man who participated in the liturgical life of the Church. At the heart of his life position was the commandment of
St. Sergius of Radonezh: "Looking to the unity of the Holy Trinity, to overcome the hateful division of this world. In Fyodorov's works the Holy
Trinity is mentioned many times; it is in the Trinity that he saw the root of man's coming immortality. In social and psychological terms, the image of the Trinity was for him the antithesis of both Western individualism and the Eastern "dissolution of the individual into the universal. In his life and writings a synthesis of religion and science was evident. The religious publicist and philosopher called Nikolai Fyodorov a great saint of his time and compared him to
Seraphim of Sarov.
Fyodorov and Librarianship Libraries occupied a special place in Fyodorov's philosophy. Fyodorov wrote about the great importance of libraries and museums as centers of spiritual heritage, centers of collecting, research and education, moral education. Libraries communicate with the great ancestors and should become the center of public life, analogous to temples, a place where people are introduced to culture and science. Fyodorov promoted the ideas of international book exchange, the use of books from private collections in libraries, the organization of exhibition departments in libraries. At the same time he was against the
copyright system, as it obviously contradicted the needs of libraries. The concept of museum and library education developed by N. F. Fyodorov's concept of museum and library education became the basis of the pedagogical programs of the International Society "Ecopolis and Culture".
Development of Fyodorov's ideas in science, art, and religion With the "Philosophy of Common Task" by N. F. Fyodorov begins a deeply peculiar philosophical and scientific direction of universal knowledge:
Russian cosmism, active-evolutionary, noosphere thought, represented in the XX century by such major scientists and philosophers as
mycologist ,
V. I. Vernadsky,
A. L. Chizhevsky,
V. S. Solovyov,
N. A. Berdyaev,
S. N. Bulgakov,
P. A. Florensky and others. Drawing attention to the fact of the direction of evolution toward the generation of reason, consciousness, cosmists put forward the idea of active evolution, that is, the need for a new conscious stage in the development of the world, when humanity directs it in the direction that reason and moral feeling dictate it, takes the wheel of evolution in its hands, so to speak. For evolutionary thinkers, man is still an intermediate being in the process of growth, far from perfect, but together consciously creative, called to transform not only the external world, but also his own nature. It is essentially about expanding the rights of conscious-spiritual forces, about the control of matter by spirit, about the spiritualization of the world and man. Cosmic expansion is one part of this grand program. The cosmists succeeded in combining care for the big whole – Earth,
biosphere,
cosmos with the deepest demands of the highest value – the concrete
person. An important place here is occupied by questions related to overcoming disease and death and achieving immortality. The planetary worldview put forward by N. F. Fyodorov and Russian philosophers-cosmists is now called the "worldview of the third millennium". The idea of man as a consciously creative being, as an agent of evolution responsible for all life on the planet, the idea of the earth as a "common home" is important in our era, when more than ever before humanity is facing questions about the relationship to nature, its resources, to the very imperfect mortal nature of man, which gives rise to individual and social evil. Cosmist philosophers have proposed their own creative version of ecology, allowing to effectively solve the global problems of our time. The idea of fruitful dialogue between nations and cultures, each contributing to the "building of noosphere" is an effective means of education in the spirit of interethnic harmony, opposition to chauvinism, rivalry of "national egoisms", put forward in this movement. The idea of continuity, memory, connection with the spiritual heritage of the past, which received a new ethical justification in the philosophy of N. F. Fyodorov, is relevant today. The reflections of cosmist thinkers on the need for moral orientation of all spheres of human knowledge and creativity, on the cosmicization of science, on the reconciliation and union of faith and knowledge in the Common Task of preservation and multiplication of life on Earth are important. Fyodorov can rightfully be considered a forerunner and prophet of the
noosphere worldview, whose foundations are laid in the works of
V. I. Vernadsky and
P. Teilhard de Chardin. The
transhumanism movement that emerged at the end of the 20th century also considers Fyodorov its forerunner. At the same time, transhumanism calls for endless human perfection with technical achievements, while Fyodorov considered technology a temporary, side branch of civilization development. He believed that "the forces of man should be directed in the other direction - to the improvement and transformation of himself". has resonated in the work of many 20th century writers, poets, artists, such as
V. Bryusov and
V. Mayakovsky,
N. Klyuev and
V. Khlebnikov,
M. Gorky and
M. Prishvin,
A. Platonov and
B. Pasternak,
V. Chekrygin and
P. Filonov. Their work was touched by the depth of ethical requirements of Fyodorov, the uniqueness of his aesthetics, the idea of the regulation of nature, overcoming death, debt to past generations. It is no coincidence that
A. L. Volynsky wrote of the thinker "Fyodorov is the only, inexplicable and incomparable phenomenon in the mental life of mankind... The birth and life of Fyodorov justified the millennial existence of Russia. Now no one on the globe will turn his tongue to reproach us that we have not thrown to the ages neither a prolific thought, nor the genius of the work begun ...".
The connection to astronautics Tsiolkovsky's thought: "Earth is the cradle of mankind, but not forever to live in a cradle!" was clearly inspired by the ideas of N. F. Fyodorov. It was he who first stated that before the restored in its entirety humanity lies the path to the development of the entire cosmic space, in which man plays the most important role of the carrier of the Mind, is the force that opposes the destruction and
heat death of the universe, which will inevitably come if man will give up his role as a conductor of the Divine Energy in the mortal world. The ideas of Fyodorov later inspired the founders of Russian cosmonautics. His works, published after his death in 1903 by Fyodorov's followers V. A. Kozhevnikov and N. P. Peterson under the title "Philosophy of Common Task", were carefully read by
Sergei Korolev. Since Nikolai Fyodorov was the illegitimate son of Prince Gagarin, there is an opinion that the names of
Yuri Gagarin and Nikolai Fyodorov stand side by side in the history of cosmonautics. == Popular culture ==