Obviously, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, written together with Arthur C. Clarke in 1968, is a story of human evolution. But, there is an added element because in this vision its not just the advancement of humanity through Darwin’s natural selection but the strange idea of the evolution of the cosmos as well of which mankind plays a specific role. Kubrick and Clarke’s vision involves proactively engaging with the cosmos in a purposeful and almost obligatory way, like missionaries of an unseen cosmic religion with the capability to turn planets into suns. It is a religion, and that religion is scientific cosmism.
Cosmism is a philosophical and cultural movement founded in the early 20th century by Nikolai Federovich Fedorov. Considered by his devotees “the Socrates of Moscow,” it is said that Federov’s philosophical formulation was cultivated through an Orthodox Christian perspective which is odd because he seems to have completely abandoned it in favor of other schools of thought percolating among the intellectuals of that time.
Let's take a deep dive into the world of cosmism and how it impacts the trajectory of the future of humanity.
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