2003 – International Scientific and Public Conference
”Cosmic World Outlook – New Mentality of the ХХI Century”
(Plenary Meeting of October 9-11)

From October 9 to 11, 2003, in the N. Roerich Center-Museum in Moscow, conclusive plenary meeting of International Scientific and Public Conference “Cosmic World Outlook – New Mentality of the ХХI Century” took place.

The conference organizers were the N. Roerich International Center-Museum, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, the Russian Academy of Education, the K. Tsiolkovsky Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, supported by the Russian Federation of Cosmonautics, the International Association of World Foundations, the RAS Institute of History of Natural Science and Technology, the Central Council of the International League for Protection of Culture, the Russian Cultural Foundation, the Modern Humanitarian University, the Russian Aviation and Cosmic Agency.

The conference plenary meeting was preceded by the work of eights sections, the meetings of which took place in April-October 2003 and covered a very wide spectrum of scientific trends reflecting cosmic world outlook development in many fields of knowledge. Scientists, philosophers, cosmonauts, pedagogues gathered to discuss these urgent problems at the following section meetings:

Section 1. “Cosmism in Philosophy of the XX–XXI Centuries”.

Section 2. “Historical and Scientific Foundations of Cosmic World Outlook Formation”.

Section 3. “Ideas of Cosmism in Pedagogy and Education”.

Section 4. “Cosmic World Perception and Religious Experience”.

Section 5. “Cosmonautics of the XXI Century: Safety and Stable Development. Cosmos, Man, Society”.

Section 6. “Science and the New System of Cognition”.

Section 7. “Cosmic World Perception in Art”.

Section 8. “Cosmic World Outlook: Past, Present, Future” (section of young scientists).

Scientists of highest ranks, specialists in various fields of science participated in this large-scale discussion of problems of cosmism. More than 900 people took part in the sections’ work and in the plenary meeting. They included 13 Academicians, 87 Doctors of Sciences and Professors, 39 Candidates of Sciences. 125 reports were read, including 20 reports at the plenary meeting. Beside Russian scientists, scientists from the CIS and Baltic countries, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany, India, the USA, Italy, Lebanon, and Finland attended the conference.

The conference showed that modern scientists of various specialties successfully work within the trend set by the cosmic world outlook.

For the first time, a representative scientific forum noted the Living Ethics urgency as a new theory of cognition. This philosophic system reveals a new picture of the Universe, contains information on the Great Laws of Cosmos, of the cosmic evolution of mankind, of the human role in global and Universal processes. Representatives of various fields of science agreed that the Living Ethics, cosmic reality philosophy, must be introduced into scientific use as a new theory of cognition of new cosmic mentality.

Extracts from reports

L. Shaposhnikova
the First Vice-President of the International Center of the Roerichs,
the N. Roerich Museum General Director,
RANS and TRAC Academician
Moscow

Cosmic Mentality and the New System of Cognition

<...> In the space and time of the XIX–XX centuries, two main trends in cognition were formed and got relative completion: scientific and extra-scientific. The scientific trend implies, first of all, empiric materialistic science and its experimental method of cognition. The so called extra-scientific trend unites various methods of cognition having common fundamental characteristics. The extra-scientific method of cognition has been formed for many thousands of years and has developed through man, through his internal world. In other words, this method has existed in the spiritual space, the borders of which are much wider than those of empiric science, which acted in the three dimensional field of solid matter. The nature of spiritual space has also determined peculiarities of this way of cognition, the main method of which has been contemplation, or contemplative action. While the scientific method of cognition has always been limited by experiment. And though both the methods had a common source of origination and have complemented each other, science did not take into consideration the extra-scientific method of cognition <…>.

<...> Until now, in our educated and sophisticated world, the extra-scientific method of cognition is characterized using such definitions as esoterics, occultism, mysticism, etc. None of these names gives a clear understanding of the knowledge itself and the ways of its acquisition, but rather supports all kinds of misunderstanding and myths. If we leave these archaic terms aside and take the notion of “science” as the basic one, such system of cognition could be called super-science or meta-science. This meta-scientific method of cognition is all penetrated with cosmism. <...>

Coming from the depth of centuries, the meta-scientific system of cognition preserved its accumulations primarily in the East, the most ancient part of our planet in terms of culture, and then established itself in the West as well. It had nothing to do with experiment as such, but used evidence, or information coming through human spiritual world from the space of other being, or, in other words, from the space of matter of other states and dimensions. This information possessed an important quality – it was by far ahead of knowledge resulting from experiment, and, in many cases, it had prophetic character. <…>

The spiritual revolution of the XX century, in the space of which new mentality of cosmic world perception was formed, carried in itself a tendency for synthesis of scientific and extra-scientific methods of cognition. This tendency got its brightest expression in the studies of the Silver Age philosophers, closely related to the problems of cultural and spiritual evolution of mankind. <…>

The scientific explosion of the 20s of the last century, to a considerable extent contributed to such process development. Natural sciences, and, first of all, physics, found themselves in a critical situation in terms of methodology. Matter, under the set conditions of the experiment, started behaving in an unpredictable way. The idivisible became divisible, in invisible spaces, intensive energetic activity was discovered, “pure” experiments in atomic physics started to be affected by subtle energetics of the experimenter himself, some “immaterial” structures and particles appeared in matter. <...> Accumulations of human knowledge extra-scientific areas turned out to be demanded again.. <…>

Scientists turned their attention to the forgotten ideas of ancient wizards about close interaction of man, planet, Cosmos, about the fundamental unity of macro- and microcosm. These thoughts got confirmation in scientific discoveries. Especially much for comprehension of the new discoveries was given by the speculative philosophy of the East. The new cosmic world perception was introducing into science the category of spirit, bringing scientists closer to the idea of existence of other states of matter, and making them seek for experimental confirmations of such existence. <…>

The new thinking, which started to develop in the space of Spiritual Revolution in Russia in the XX century, was a more serious and deeper process than we can imagine. I do not think I will make a mistake if I say that substitution of one type of thinking for another is happening. This process has undoubtedly evolutionary character. We turned out to be witnesses of cosmic scale events, in all their grandiosity and fatal collisions, and we are still unaware of their essence. <…>

The opinion that cosmism is only part of scientific thinking is wrong in its very essence. Cosmism, or cosmic mentality, is much wider in terms of its concepts than modern scientific thinking. We are still to become aware of the fact that the latter is just part of the already forming new thinking, and this part’s best cognitive elements will pass over to the future. To think that the new cosmic mentality will start today or tomorrow means being unable to orientate in the time of process. The new thinking formation completion period can take at least two centuries, and, probably, more. <…>

In the result, already at the beginning of the XX century, the main cosmic mentality ideas were formed it its sphere:

1. The new cosmic thinking requires a different system of cognition and methodological foundations different from those which already exist in modern theories of cognition. The new system comprehension and establishment is an urgent need for cosmic mentality future development.

2. The new mentality considers Cosmos not only as an astronomic notion, but in all its energetic complexity and versatility of states of matter.

3. An integral approach to the study of the Universe is needed for its correct comprehension.

4. Interaction between cosmic processes and being of man must be taken into consideration when studying man and Cosmos.

5. Influence on man and earthly processes of matter of a higher state should be considered as cause phenomena.

6. Macro- and microcosm are unified.

7. Man is part of Cosmos carrying this Cosmos in himself.

8. Spirit is one of the most important phenomena connecting the inner world of man with the deep Cosmos.

9. Man is a subject and collaborator of cosmic powers what found its reflection in V. Soloviev’s theory of theurgy and in introduced by him notion of god-man.

10. Cosmic thinking is not only a scientific concept, but also practical transformation of life and mentality of man.

11. The new system of cognition corresponding to the new mentality, is a synthesis of the main methods of cognition, scientific and meta-scientific, which will result in restoration of the links with the Higher at a higher level.

12. Such system of cognition will be most closely related to moral and ethical issues.

13. Cosmic mentality contains a new approach to the study of problems of man as a cosmic structure, in which the phenomenon of consciousness creates a most important evolutionary targeting. <…>

Covering a widest range of cosmic processes, the Living Ethics contributes to such understanding of events by man “which would reflect the essence and basis of the whole Universe”, according to N. Roerich. Comprehending the place of man in the system of cosmic evolution, the Living Ethics creators state that “man is the source of knowledge and the most powerful implementer of Cosmic Forces”, that he is “part of Cosmic energy, part of elements, part of intellect, part of consciousness of the higher matter”. <…>

The Living Ethics following methodological theses give us an opportunity to understand those new ideas that it introduced into the philosophic thought of the XX century, and those approaches to the Cosmic evolution of mankind which start making integral part of the new mentality concept.

1. The Universe is an integral energetic system consisting of various energetic structures, including man, which interact with each other in a grandiose energetic and informational exchange. <…>

2. These processes determine existence and development of all kinds of states of matter with various dimensions, which make the multitude of worlds in Cosmos.

3. Spirit is subtle material and high vibration energetics and holds dominating position in the Universe, acting as the basis for cosmic creation itself. Spirit as subtle material energy spiritualizes matter in the process of evolution, creating its higher forms.

4. Man as an energetic structure is not only part of Cosmos, but also carries this Cosmos in his internal world. The last circumstance allows man to influence the evolutionary creation of Cosmos by energetics of spirit contained in this man. <…>

5. Man, in his turn, also depends on the worlds of a subtler state of matter and its higher dimensions. <…>

6. The necessity for human mentality expansion is the main condition for comprehension of the new model of the Universe, which we find in the Living Ethics system of cognition. Expansion of consciousness leads to new scientific paradigms, to discoveries, and settlement of contradictions at certain steps of cognition. <…>

7. Expansion of mentality determines the evolutionary process developing within the energetic distance “object – subject”. The way from the evolution object to subject is the way of improvement of man, his inclusion in the chain of cosmic Hierarchy, without spiritual creative work of which evolution of neither Cosmos, nor man would be possible. All the above provides grounds for a statement that the Living Ethics as a philosophy of cosmic reality contains the new cosmic mentality system of cognition. It synthetically united ancient and modern knowledge, the thought of the East and the West, findings of empiric science and meta-science, methods of cognition in various fields of creative work, such as philosophy, religious experience, art. <…>

8. One of the most important theses of the Living Ethics system of cognition: “Teacher – disciple” is closely related to the process of consciousness expansion and the problem “object – subject”. <…>

All the above provides grounds for a statement that the Living Ethics as a philosophy of cosmic reality contains the new cosmic mentality system of cognition.

S. Kurdiumov
RAS Corresponding Member,
Institute of Applied Mathematics of the RF Academy of Sciences
Moscow

New Tendencies in the Scientific World Outlook

Today, the interest for study of complicated systems evolution laws is not accidental. Such developments are conducted in various countries of the world, in major institutes, many studies have already been published in the Internet. Those studies, raising all kinds of problems, are due to the concern with the fate of the world not only on the part of scientists alone. Where is the mankind moving at this stage of development? What are the threatening crises and how to overcome them? What will be the next, post-crisis step of development?

Scientists are trying to answer these questions from the point of view of new thermodynamics – a science which predicts the course of processes in open systems. That is, it has turned out to be possible to predict the future within a certain period of time. Philosophers call such prediction anticipatory reflection. This is the way the whole life is structured – there is always a possibility to predict the next step at a primitive or complicated level.

Modern science says that there is no dead nature. The element of “spirituality”, element of prediction, element of memory exists in any element of the world. This is one of the postulates of new sciences: thermodynamics, synergy, non-linear dynamics, theory of complicated systems. These sciences’ purpose is to try to find the laws of development on the basis of scientific prediction, and not using the method of trial and error. The idea of multiplicity is one of this trend main ideas. There is not only one way to the future, but many variants of development, multiple forms of adaptation to rapidly changing environment. It is necessary to consistently look for those forms of adaptation, those ways. <…>

In that process, not the laws of the type of Newton’s laws to which we have got used play an important role, but accidents; any directed, even very weak influence is significant – a thought of an individual, a written by him book, his word, or his speech. In a stable state, when the process has established itself, it is very hard, practically impossible to change it’s direction. But under conditions of a system instability, a small effect can result in catastrophic results, further chain reactions which develop in accordance with their own laws and bring to motion powerful energies. This should be kept in mind.

There is a very beautiful image in the Chinese philosophy: an eagle flying above a valley, cut through by numerous roads. And it is possible to move in the right direction along different roads. The task of scientists is to contemplate like the eagle all variations of evolution ways, at least of the main, trunk directions. They can interweave, diverge – and this determines the complexity of the way choice: it is necessary to see which of those multiple ways will lead to the set goal.

The new thermodynamics determines the trend of presumable development on the basis of mathematical calculations. <…>

Another synergy law that should be taken into account by the humanity is the law of complicated systems self-organization. For example, there are convection cells, or granules on the sun, which have a certain shape. On the Earth, an appearing under certain conditions shape has the form of six-faceted cells. It is possible to explain this and create a theory to show that in nature, in certain non-linear media, for example, in the solar plasma, there are conditions for appearance of self-organization having the same forms as self-organization according to Plato. To take into consideration the laws of the medium self-organization and to fit organically into the same, means to follow Dao’s laws. Since there is the law of stability in nature, scientists must know which forms will be stable, for example, when breeding new species of animals or plants by way of crossing. Society also has its moral laws which should be taken into consideration in scientific search. The humanity came by way of experience, with enormous losses, to religious prohibitions securing the society stability. Religious and ethical taboos must be scientifically, mathematically grounded so that we could avoid such losses. <…>

And, as a specific feature of modern development, a new science has appeared – thermodynamics of modes with aggravation. How are we passing through this crisis? What will come after it? How to calculate models of the humanity development? Among the great number of processes, only those should be distinguished that have the highest speed. In general, the system can develop if its parameters development has been coordinated, consensus between subsystems developing with different speeds has been established. At that, rapid processes are essential, they determine the development, and the model is created proceeding from them. <...>

The general result is as follows: <…> first, the chaos share increase, and then – creation of new world vision, new culture, new social structures – noosphere philosophy.

А. Nazarov
Doctor of Biology, RANS Academician,
Ecological Center of the S. Vavilov Institute of Natural Science
and Technology Theory of the RAS
Moscow

What is Cosmism in the Idea of Noosphere

Cosmism is the first, main, and necessary condition for the noosphere idea itself, and, of course, for the idea of biosphere. Vernadsky used to say that this mantle of the Earth is a cosmic-and-earth mantle, that is it is genetically related to Cosmos. In one of his early studies, he made an absolutely remarkable comparison: if there were no Life related to Cosmos at all, everything would have come to balance in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics – and processes on Earth would have stopped. Cosmos and effect of cosmic emissions, especially solar radiation, and existence of such transformer of energies as the population of all living beings, determines the cosmic character of biosphere, and then noosphere. <…>

Vernadsky believed that the thought has material and energetic nature. He also wrote that the thought is not only and not as much a material and energetic manifestation, but it is something else as well. <…> The thought is the trigger that sometimes instantly changes the fates of peoples. Probably, those reflections were the forerunners of the modern notion of information.

The modern analysis of the noosphere consciousness problem allows to say that it is still consciousness of a different kind, different quality. Vernadsky absolutely consciously included cosmic sources of morality in this notion. He wrote that there must be new morality corresponding to these sources. <…>

Study of Vernadsky’s creative work has shown that it is very consonant to Roerich’s creative work, there are many similar ideas in these thinkers’ heritage. Moreover, Roerich independently answered some of raised by Vernadsky questions, and those answers have noospheric sounding. Their precious collection can be found in the Living Ethics. Here, scientific anticipation of noospheric reality, and corresponding to its spiritual essence of noospheric mankind are merging together.

F. Yanshina
Academician, Leading Researcher of the V. Vernadsky Institute of
Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry of the RAS
Moscow

V. Vernadsky about Philosophy and Its Significance in the Development of Science

<...> V. Vernadsky was the creator of new scientific disciplines and trends: genetic mineralogy, geochemistry, radio geology, biogeochemistry, cosmochemistry, meteoritics, teaching of natural waters, biosphere, and noosphere; he was a major organizer of science and its historian, original philosopher and thinker, according to L. Berg, “alone representing the whole Academy”. The history of science does not know any other scientist of whom such words would be said during his lifetime. V. Vernadsky left a brightest trace in all those fields of knowledge. <…>

At the same time, the range of philosophic interests in V. Vernadsky’s scientific creative work was extremely extensive, and the interest for philosophy accompanied the scientist throughout his life. Knowing well ancient languages from as early as his gymnasium years, he could read Plato and other Greek philosophers in the original. Later, he considered studies of philosophers of Middle Ages and the Renaissance epoch, and of the New Time as well. He also knew well contemporary philosophy, due to personal acquaintance with many philosophers. He was interested not only in European philosophic systems, but in those of ancient and medieval India and China.

<…> manuscript “Scientific Thought as a Planetary Phenomenon” is the peak of V. Vernadsky’s philosophic creative work, summarizing his reflections of the fates of scientific cognition, of the relationship of science and philosophy, of the future of mankind. It can be shortly characterized as “uncompleted, but impressive synthesis of ideas developed by the scientist in the last period of his life”. It should be recognized that is the first in the whole world literature experience of generalization of our planet evolution as a single cosmic, geological, biogenic, and anthropogenic process. <...>

His studies moved far forward many sectors of natural sciences. In his scientific studies, he tried to go further than what had been achieved by others, to expand the borders of the cognized, and he rejected traditional paradigms. That is why his contemporaries did not always understand him, and he became closer and more understandable for us in the course of time. This was the case, for example, with his teaching of biosphere and noosphere. The same is the reason for the depth and authenticity of his scientific predictions. <...>

L. Golovanov
Doctor of Philosophy,
Professor of the Russian Academy of State Service,
Moscow

Dialectics of Spirit in the Century of Cosmos

<...> Penetration with Cosmos, experience of practical cosmic activities and enriched by the same new understandings of the world as a whole (endless whole) and the Earth relations with it, started to play a decisive role in the world outlook, and in all spheres of public mentality, in theoretical philosophic concepts and political science. Even a specific branch appeared in international jurisprudence – cosmic law. <...>

In the light of creative heritage of K. Tsiolkovsky, V. Vernadsky, and A. Tchizhevsky, creative success of their followers and continuers, it is obvious that the fates of Cosmos and our planet are inseparable. It will be no exaggeration if we say that, at the turn of centuries, cosmism started establishing itself as a dominant of materialistically understood spirit as an ideal phenomenon of culture of complexly organized panhuman consciousness. Cosmonautics success marked establishment of a new quality in cognition and practice. There is no doubt that the general spirit of mankind will be more and more “penetrated” with cosmism. <...>

In the light of the above, used in the newly released fundamental scientific publication “Globalistics: Encyclopedia” definition of cosmism as a “psychological phenomenon” cannot help arousing, to say the least, surprise.

G. Foursey
RANS Academician, RANS Vice-President
Saint-Petersburg

Freedom of Will, Responsibility, and Stable Development

<...> To realize its destination in creation of a high quality of life, man should accept – consciously and readily – one most important postulate: continuous, constant resistance to egocentrism. N. Nepliuyev defined the highest quality of life as responsibility based on discipline of love, conscious and cheerful attitude to being – life, nature in general, and the Higher element.

This idea and revelation of sacral meaning of Love as the main and the only way to the Temple, have repeatedly been discussed by major philosophers: Berdiayev, Vivekananda, Soloviev, Florensky, N. and H. Roerichs. <…>

The essence of existence of a personality, a people, a nation is concentrated and is determined by the field, the space of its culture. In culture, the main successes and achievements of mankind are concentrated, in this respect, the culture makes the foundation for its further development. The culture determines the optimal trajectory of movement in present, and outlines the contours and aims of the ascent. Culture is experience of generations, first of all, moral experience. <…>

Science is the most comprehended part of culture possessing qualitative criteria and objective ideas of the surrounding us world. Science comprises accumulated by the mankind systematized knowledge, carriers of knowledge (scientists), a system of knowledge transfer (education), and foundations of morality determining the ways of the knowledge use. <...>