Russian cosmism and Western transhumanism: Friends or foes?

Russian cosmism (see my book [*], Chapter 7) is often considered as a precursor of transhumanism.

But perhaps there’s more tension between Russian cosmism and contemporary Western transhumanism than appears at a first glance. See this insightful essay by Juliette Faure, published in The Conversation (French original).

Some “Western transhumanist thinkers identify Fyodorov as the prophet of their quest for immortality,” notes Faure linking to my essay “Maximum Jailbreak, and the legacy of Stephen Hawking.”

But today Russian cosmism is “a source of inspiration for ideologues in search of a national idea for post-Soviet Russia,” who consider Russian cosmism as a possible basis of Russia’s national identity. According to the influential Izborsky Club,

“Russia must oppose its own ‘technocratic mythology’ to the Western model of development. The latter is roughly associated with transhumanism, a concept behind which members of the Izborsky Club rank both explicit advocates of transhumanism such as Elon Musk and any worldview that derogates from their vision of traditional society such as feminism, globalization or sustainable development…”

“the Izborsky Club on the contrary claims the specifically Russian character of Cosmism and its intimate connection with the ‘historical mission’ of the Russian people. The November 2020 issue of the Izborsky Club journal meant to demonstrate the opposition between Cosmism and transhumanism…”

Science thus becomes the vector of realization of the ‘Russian dream’, which is meant to replace the American dream with ‘the ideals of Russian Cosmism” and of a ‘spiritual science’…. Cosmism thus serves as the basis for a syncretic ideology that… combines technological modernity with religious conservatism…”

“the Izborsky Club promotes Cosmism as the basis of a ‘new global alternative development project that Russia could express and propose’. The marriage of modern science with political traditionalism indeed intends to offer an alternative to the Western theories of modernization.”

I admire the great Russian nation, but I’m not enthusiastic about the prospect of Russian cultural supremacy (which doesn't seem very likely at this moment anyway). I understand those conservatives who long for traditional society and culture, but I’m not enthusiastic about traditionalism either. So I’m not a fan of the interpretation of Russian cosmism promoted by the Izborsky Club and other contemporary Russian conservative traditionalist voices.

But yes, I think there’s more tension between Russian cosmism and contemporary Western transhumanism than appears at a first glance.

Many transhumanists fall into blind adoration of science (actually 19th century science, not even contemporary science) as the one and only “correct” tool to understand and change the world.

They dismiss highly imaginative frontier science (such as psi research, to which the Russian cosmists were and remain open) without considering supportive scientific arguments. They attack psi researchers guilty of what they call “magical thinking.” But if psi is real (as I believe it is) it must be amenable to analysis by future science and replication by future technology, so psi is magical only in the sense of Clarke’s third law.

And WTF is wrong with magical thinking anyway? Here’s to J. K. Rowling and Harry Potter! May them live forever and bring more happiness to the universe!

Many transhumanists have visceral knee-jerk reactions against anything that sounds like, God forbid, religion. Of course, the ideas of afterlife and resurrection throw them into hysterical fits.

I find those transhumanists very annoying, and the cosmist idea of “spiritual science” very intriguing. I used to identify as a transhumanist, but today I prefer to identify as a cosmist.

I became a fan of Nikolai Fedorov (or Fyodorov) and other Russian cosmists because they considered universal resurrection as a scientific project for future humanity.

My own interpretation of Russian cosmism versus contemporary Western transhumanism is in my book [*] chapter “Knocking on Heaven’s door: Russian and modern cosmism.”

In a nutshell, quoting my essay cited by Faure: In the far future we’ll join the community of God-like civilizations among the stars, learn from them, become God-like ourselves, remake the universe, and resurrect the dead. Following Fedorov, I think this is our cosmic destiny and duty.

I am a cosmist.

[*] My book “Tales of the Turing Church: Hacking religion, enlightening science, awakening technology” is available for readers to buy on Amazon (Kindle | paperback).

Please buy my book, and/or donate to support other Turing Church projects.

Cover picture from Wikimedia Commons