The interesting and under-appreciated contributions of the 19th century Russian Prince, Vladimir Odoevsky, are explored. Odoevsky provided a number of speculations on the long-term futures and trajectories of human civilization. His case is interesting because he was sensitive to both the potential for technological progress to garner huge benefit, but also the risks it poses to our species. Indeed, he provides a very early speculation upon an omnicide scenario.

Inspired by contemporary scientific predictions that a comet will collide with Earth at a set date in the far future, Odoevsky was compelled to attempt to predict as to what civilization might look like at that time.

Not only were his answers surprisingly prescient for a 19th century writer, but many of the themes he dealt with remain pertinent within contemporary future studies. Not only did he envision geoengineering, climate control, and planetary defense against near-Earth objects, but he also speculated upon the expansion of humanity’s resource footprint beyond the Earth. Elsewhere, through a critical engagement with utilitarianism, he provided an early example of the so-called ‘benevolent world-exploder’ arguments against suffering-focused ethics.

探索了19世纪俄国王子弗拉基米尔·奥多耶夫斯基（Vladimir Odoevsky）的有趣而未被重视的贡献。奥多耶夫斯基对人类文明的长期前景和轨迹提出了许多推测。他的案子很有趣，因为他既对获得巨大利益的技术进步潜力很敏感，也对它给我们的物种带来的风险很敏感。的确，他提供了关于杀人案的非常早的推测。

受当代科学预测的启发，彗星将在不远的将来的某个特定日期与地球碰撞，奥多耶夫斯基被迫尝试预测当时的文明状况。

对于19世纪的作家来说，他的答案不仅令人惊讶地预见到，而且他所处理的许多主题在当代未来研究中仍然具有相关性。他不仅设想了对近地物体的地球工程，气候控制和行星防御，而且还推测了人类在地球以外的资源足迹的扩大。在其他地方，他通过与功利主义的批判性接触，提供了所谓的“仁慈的世界爆炸手”论点，反对以苦难为重的伦理学。