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Religious and philosophical views of Albert Einstein - Wikipedia
The author, although unknown, genuinely allows the reader to pull from examples of his own life and mistakes that he has made and current issues that we are facing in this ever changing world war, natural disasters, differing political viewpoints, and debateable religious issues to see that there are lessons to be had by all. I would argue that this book definitely answered questions that I had - especially being raised a Catholic my whole life creationism , but having a realistic perspective on the world and the importance that science evolution plays in the universe and the value one can find in building a bridge between science and religion.
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Religious and philosophical views of Albert Einstein
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Amazon Restaurants Food delivery from local restaurants. Part of Einstein's tension with the Abrahamic afterlife was his belief in determinism and his rejection of free will. Einstein stated, "The man who is thoroughly convinced of the universal operation of the law of causation cannot for a moment entertain the idea of a being who interferes in the course of events —- that is, if he takes the hypothesis of causality really seriously.
He has no use for the religion of fear and equally little for social or moral religion. A God who rewards and punishes is inconceivable to him for the simple reason that a man's actions are determined by necessity, external and internal, so that in God's eyes he cannot be responsible, any more than an inanimate object is responsible for the motions it goes through. A primitive understanding of causality causes fear, and the fearful invent supernatural beings analogous to themselves. The desire for love and support create a social and moral need for a supreme being; both these styles have an anthropomorphic concept of God.
The third style, which Einstein deemed most mature, originates in a deep sense of awe and mystery. He said, the individual feels "the sublimity and marvelous order which reveal themselves in nature A person who is religiously enlightened appears to me to be one who has, to the best of his ability, liberated himself from the fetters of his selfish desires and is preoccupied with thoughts, feelings and aspirations to which he clings because of their super-personal value.
It seems to me that what is important is the force of this superpersonal content Accordingly a religious person is devout in the sense that he has no doubt of the significance of those super-personal objects and goals which neither require nor are capable of rational foundation In this sense religion is the age-old endeavor of mankind to become clearly and completely conscious of these values and goals and constantly to strengthen and extend their effect.
If one conceives of religion and science according to these definitions then a conflict between them appears impossible. For science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be An understanding of causality was fundamental to Einstein's ethical beliefs. In Einstein's view, "the doctrine of a personal God interfering with natural events could never be refuted, in the real sense, by science," for religion can always take refuge in areas that science can not yet explain. It was Einstein's belief that in the "struggle for the ethical good, teachers of religion must have the stature to give up the doctrine of a personal God, that is, give up that source of fear and hope" and cultivate the "Good, the True, and the Beautiful in humanity itself.
Catholic Cardinal William Henry O'Connell spoke about Einstein's perceived lack of belief, "The outcome of this doubt and befogged speculation about time and space is a cloak beneath which hides the ghastly apparition of atheism. Both have handed down dicta outside their jurisdiction. In his book The World as I See It , Einstein expanded on his religiosity, "A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms — it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man.
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In Einstein received a letter from a young girl in the sixth grade. She had asked him, with the encouragement of her teacher, if scientists pray. Einstein replied in the most elementary way he could:. Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the actions of people.
For this reason, a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by a prayer, i. However, it must be admitted that our actual knowledge of these laws is only imperfect and fragmentary, so that, actually, the belief in the existence of basic all-embracing laws in nature also rests on a sort of faith.
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All the same this faith has been largely justified so far by the success of scientific research. But, on the other hand, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.
In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive. Einstein characterized himself as "devoutly religious" in the following sense, "The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mystical. It is the power of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms—this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness.
In this sense, and in this sense only, I belong to the rank of devoutly religious men.
In December , he commented on what inspires his religiosity, "My feeling is religious insofar as I am imbued with the insufficiency of the human mind to understand more deeply the harmony of the universe which we try to formulate as 'laws of nature. But I have not found a better expression than 'religious' for the trust in the rational nature of reality that is, at least to a certain extent, accessible to human reason. Einstein frequently referred to his belief system as "cosmic religion" and authored an eponymous article on the subject in , which later became his book Ideas and Opinions in It rejected a conflict between science and religion , and held that cosmic religion was necessary for science.
But a comprehensible mystery. I have nothing but awe when I observe the laws of nature. There are not laws without a lawgiver, but how does this lawgiver look? Certainly not like a man magnified. Nonetheless, I would have been in good company. In a letter to Eric Gutkind dated 3 January , Einstein wrote in German, "For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions.
And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything ' chosen ' about them.
In an interview published by Time magazine with George Sylvester Viereck , Einstein spoke of his feelings about Christianity.
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I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. In a conversation with the Dutch poet Willem Frederik Hermans Einstein stressed that, "I seriously doubt that Jesus himself said that he was God, for he was too much a Jew to violate that great commandment: No name was so abused for the sake of power!
Einstein interpreted the concept of a Kingdom of God as referring to the best people. The only Jewish school in Munich had been closed in for want of students, and in the absence of an alternative Einstein attended a Catholic elementary school. Physical attacks and insults on the way home from school were frequent, but for the most part not too vicious.
Fr Lemaitre is known as the first proponent of the big bang theory of the origins of the cosmos and pioneer in applying Einstein's theory of general relativity to cosmology. In Time magazine quoted Einstein lauding the Catholic Church for its role in opposing the Nazis:. Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing truth.
I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly. Waterhouse and Barbara Wolff of the Einstein Archives in Jerusalem found that the statement was mentioned in an unpublished letter from In the letter to Count Montgelas, Einstein explained that the original comment was a casual one made to a journalist regarding the support of "a few churchmen" for individual rights and intellectual freedom during the early rule of Hitler and that, according to Einstein, the comment had been drastically exaggerated.
On 11 November the Rev. Cornelius Greenway of Brooklyn wrote a letter to Einstein which had also quoted his alleged remarks about the Church. Einstein responded, "I am, however, a little embarrassed. The wording of the statement you have quoted is not my own.
Shortly after Hitler came to power in Germany I had an oral conversation with a newspaper man about these matters. Since then my remarks have been elaborated and exaggerated nearly beyond recognition. I cannot in good conscience write down the statement you sent me as my own. The matter is all the more embarrassing to me because I, like yourself, I am predominantly critical concerning the activities, and especially the political activities, through history of the official clergy. Thus, my former statement, even if reduced to my actual words which I do not remember in detail gives a wrong impression of my general attitude.
In the Antiques Roadshow television program aired a manuscript expert, Catherine Williamson, authenticating a letter from Einstein in which he confirms that he "made a statement which corresponds approximately" to Time magazine's quotation of him. However, Einstein continued, "I made this statement during the first years of the Nazi regime—much earlier than —and my expressions were a little more moderate. Einstein's conversations with William Hermanns were recorded over a year correspondence.
In the conversations Einstein makes various statements about the Christian Churches in general and the Catholic Church in particular: Hasn't Hitler promised to smash the Bolsheviks in Russia? The Church will bless its Catholic soldiers to march alongside the Nazis" March The Church since Constantine has always favoured the authoritarian State, as long as the State allows the Church to baptize and instruct the masses" March But no sooner have they done their job than their 'friends', often blessed by the Church, spit in their faces" August One doesn't need to be a prophet to say, 'The Catholic Church will pay for this silence I do not say that the unspeakable crimes of the Church for 2, years had always the blessing of the Vatican, but it vaccinated its believers with the idea: We have the true God, and the Jews have crucified Him.
Thou shalt not kill" August I don't need to go to Church to hear if I'm good or bad; my heart tells me this" August Consider the hate the Church manifested against the Jews and then against the Muslims, the Crusades with their crimes, the burning stakes of the inquisition , the tacit consent of Hitler's actions while the Jews and the Poles dug their own graves and were slaughtered. And Hitler is said to have been an altar boy! Since when can one make a pact with Christ and Satan at the same time? Consider what mass misery they have produced in Spain , South America and Russia.
In response to a Catholic convert who asked "Didn't you state that the Church was the only opponent of Communism? Einstein didn't mean only the Catholic church, but all churches. When asked for more precise responses, Einstein replied: I do not believe in the fear of life, in the fear of death, in blind faith.
I cannot prove to you that there is no personal God, but if I were to speak of him, I would be a liar. I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil.