TSIOLKOVSKY, RUSSIAN COSMISM AND EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE

Although Konstantin Tsiolkovsky's (1857-1935) contributions as a pione ering theorist of spaceflight are well known, his equally original thi nking about extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) is only now coming to be fully appreciated as the philosophical works he wrote late in life have become available for study. Working from the philosophical premis es of monism and panpsychism, Tsiolkovsky held that ETI was prevalent and that advanced life forms would become spacefaring and spread beyon d their natal star systems. This led him to anticipate the Fermi Parad ox and offer his own solution to why we have not seen any signs of adv anced, spacefaring ETI. According to Tsiolkovsky, although such ETI co uld long ago have visited Earth and then uplifted us to their own leve l of development, we have been spared intervention in the hope that hu mans might develop a uniquely 'new and wonderful stream of life' to ad d to galactic civilization.