Cosmic philosophy of K. Tsiolkovsky

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

We know Konstantin Tsiolkovsky as a theoretician of cosmonautics, as a person whose striving for the stars was not hindered by endless poverty, or progressive deafness, or isolation from the scientific community. But he is much less known as the author of cosmic philosophy and the founder of ufology.

Blows of fate

Deafness, which developed in Tsiolkovsky as a result of complications after scarlet fever suffered in childhood, was his curse. He confessed: “Deafness made me suffer every minute of my life spent with people. I always felt isolated, offended, outcast with them. It deepened me into myself, made me look for great deeds in order to win the approval of people and not be so despised ….

Due to hearing problems, Tsiolkovsky could not really study at the gymnasium. He did not hear the explanations of the teachers, only scraps of words reached him. But the teachers did not make allowances for hearing loss, so the future theorist of cosmonautics could not boast of good academic performance. He was dropped twice in his second year and was eventually expelled.

The boy was left to himself, and this became his salvation: all day long he was drawing and making some amazing mechanisms. Therefore, his father decided that it was simply necessary for Konstantin to study, and sent him to Moscow - to the Higher Technical School (now the Bauman Moscow State Technical University).

But 16-year-old Tsiolkovsky, having arrived in the capital, decided that he would manage without a school. He spent almost all of his meager funds on the purchase of books and equipment for independent scientific experiments. As a result, eating only black bread, he weakened and was forced to return home, where after some time he managed to pass exams for the right to be a school teacher.

Conspiracy of silence

Tsiolkovsky began teaching. First in Borovsk, and then in Kaluga. And although in teaching he saw only a way of earning money, he was very responsible for this activity. It is no coincidence that even in tsarist times he was twice presented with a reward for conscientious work.

He received his third order from the Soviet government - for his works in the field of the theory of space flight. However, these two paths of Tsiolkovsky - space and pedagogy - did not intersect anywhere, and in the school where he taught, no one knew about his rocket-space "hobby". He achieved everything himself and in many ways was the first and only, and not only in Kaluga, but throughout Russia.

Despite his physical disabilities, and perhaps thanks to them, Tsiolkovsky was distinguished by heightened ambition. He rightly considered himself a genius and sent work after work to Moscow and St. Petersburg, where the entire scientific elite of that time was concentrated. But correspondence communication with luminaries did not work out. Scientists did not let him into their ranks: they did not even condescend to correspond with an eccentric from Kaluga.

So, once Tsiolkovsky sent a "Report on experiments on air resistance" to Professor N. Ye. Zhukovsky - a recognized luminary in the field of aerodynamics. There was no answer. Then he sent the second and last of the remaining copies. But he did not receive an answer to this message either. The "report" was extracted from the archives and published only 50 years later, when Tsiolkovsky was already a recognized scientist. And similar stories with the works of the Kaluga genius happened more than once.

“It is sad and painful to think that even the largest people have such miserable weaknesses that are usually inherent in small and insignificant people,” wrote Konstantin Eduardovich.“Only for many years could they convince me that Professor Zhukovsky set one of his tasks to eradicate my name from the scientific press by means of a conspiracy of silence…”.

Philosophy of the future

It's hard to believe it, but Tsiolkovsky himself considered his theory of space flight to be just an addition to the philosophical works, of which he had more than 400. Many of them are still unknown to readers today.

In the USSR, especially after the launch of the first satellite and the flight of Gagarin, Tsiolkovsky became a key figure in propaganda demonstrating the "superiority of the socialist system", and therefore the authorities had serious reasons to hide his works, the content of which did not fit into the Procrustean bed of Marxist-Leninist ideology.

Indeed, in his works, in the most paradoxical way, the ideas of spiritual inheritance or reincarnation of "eternal atoms" from one body to another, the theosophical position of a continuous change in periods of development and decline, as well as the ancient idea of the animate nature of all things were combined. Tsiolkovsky was convinced that all material forms exist not only according to physical, but also according to mental laws. Thought, to put it mildly, untimely.

Moreover, the scientist never believed that rocket engines are the pinnacle and limit of human design thought. He was convinced that someday people will abandon such a dangerous and ineffective way of space travel. Tsiolkovsky argued that in the future a person will change himself, becoming a "radiant person", that is, he will not have a physical body and can easily be both in icy outer space and inside red-hot stars, moving through the Universe with great speed and without any mechanical devices …

Mother and child

Tsiolkovsky did not have a very high opinion of humanity, believing that it looks rather primitive and even pitiful compared to the inhabitants of other worlds of the Universe, much more developed than the Earth.

He had no doubt that space was teeming with life, but at the same time he was far from "carbon-protein chauvinism" in its definition. From his point of view, life can be represented in any form. He even admitted the idea that the residents of supercivilizations are secretly on our planet! And they could well have changed our life for the better, but they did not.

And from the best of intentions: overcoming all sorts of barriers and difficulties, humanity develops and grows. “The mother does not allow the baby to drown, fall from the roof, burn, die,” wrote Tsiolkovsky. “But she allows him to hurt himself a little or get burned so that he learns dexterity, acquires the knowledge and caution necessary for existence. This is how the cosmos behaves with humanity. The will of the latter is not fulfilled and is limited until it has yet grown and reached the highest reason."

In addition, Tsiolkovsky was convinced that humanity was not yet ready to communicate with representatives of alien civilizations. Say, their appearance will only generate chaos and religious fanaticism among people. This was said almost 100 years ago, which flashed like one second for the Universe, so in its eyes we are still children …

Where Dreams May Come

In his youth, Tsiolkovsky wanted to become an aeronaut, but, critically assessing his physical capabilities, he realized the impossibility of his dream and gave all his strength to the independent study of higher mathematics and other sciences.

And being already in adulthood, he focused on comprehending the theory of air travel, which at that time was in its infancy. Here he proved to be a true innovator, anticipating the invention of the wind tunnel, the all-metal airship and the futuristic shapes of future aircraft.