Konstantin Tsiolkovsky’s heroic techno-utopia
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky’s heroic techno-utopia

Summary/Abstract: The oeuvre of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935), one of the most eminent scientists of his age, considered the father of astronautics, proponent of the idea of rocket propulsion and the theory of variable-mass rocket flight, spans over 200 works on physics and philosophy. However, only a single work of his has the nature of a science-fiction novel. In Beyond the Planet Earth, published in 1920, he presented an ideal vision of humanity which a century after the present day is living in peace and universal harmony in space. The scientist’s utopian vision became a connection of sorts between his treatises on physics and astronautics and his philosophical output. At the same time, his scientific discoveries related to exploration of the universe preceded the first manned flights by almost half a century. In the present article, the author attempts to answer the question about the nature of the ideal society described by Tsiolkovsky in Beyond the Planet Earth. The specific character of this vision will be discussed not only through recapitulating its key features, but also by analysing their connections with the Tsiolkovsky’s hallmark cosmophilosophical monism and his methodologically naturalistic approach to scientific research. For this purpose, the utopian traits of Tsiolkovsky’s vision will be highlighted and analysed, with particular emphasis on the scientific and technological dimensions of the idea, which will allow to not only view the concept in terms of technological utopia, but also determine to what extent this vision reached beyond the framework of the classic utopias and became a heroic one.

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