Revised 96-2-21
A human being is part of the whole called by us the universe. A part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something seperate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures.
If "Man of the 20th century" were chosen, would it be Albert Einstein? His scientific work alone might justify the title for his insights have stimulated profound scientific developments at every order of magnitude. Few realize the debt owed by valued progress arising from his scientific work.
Less well know, but no less important was his lifelong commitment to Peace and Humanity. To read his writings and works is an education in itself.
Some of his best work was done during W.W.I. when he refused to have anything to do with the war effort in Germany.
He was one of four courageous academics who signed in that time a "European Manifesto." This was but his first political act, to be followed by many others, some actions as were available to anyone, but some only open to a beloved and unique international celebrity.
He became the first German to visit France and England after that war, as in effect, the "ice breaking citizen diplomat."
He supported the League of Nations, many peace and Human Rights societies, and he campaigned and collected money on behalf of War Resisters International, particularly championing the right of the "Conscientious Objector" which he was par excellence.
He helped the cause of a Jewish homeland in Israel, and when Chaim Weizman died, he had the humility, and perhaps wisdom, to decline the Presidency of Israel!
With almost his last living action, he gave his signature in the cause of peace and humanity to what has been called his last manifesto, The Russell-Einstein Manifesto.
The to read his letters and papers opens twentieth century history with his clarity of insight. One can read and appreciate in his exchange with Freud in 1933 about that watershed year when Hitler came to power, and the die was cast that would define the future of Europe, and indeed the world.
[Preface to Einstein on Peace] It is a very good thing that Einstein's letters and writings on other than scientific subjects are being collected and printed. Einstein was not only the ablest man of science of his generation, he was also a wise man which is something different.
If statesmen had listened to him, the course of human events would have been less disastrous than it has been. It is the custom of "practical" men to condemn any man capable of a wide survey as a visionary: no man is thought worthy of a voice in politics unless he ignore, or does not know - nine tenths of the most important relevant facts. On this ground, no one listened to Einstein. In Germany during Hitler's reign, the Theory of Relativity was condemned as a Jewish trick of which the sole purpose was to bewilder Aryans. It seemed that Hitler and Himmler could not understand it and rashly inferred than no Aryan could. In the United States where he lived after Germany rejected him, he received as a scientist, all that great measure of honor which was his due; but when he allowed himself to say anything about political matters, what he said was by most people, considered highly undesirable.
I was among those who almost always agreed with him. He and I both opposed the First World War but considered the Second unavoidable. He and I were equally perturbed by the awful prospect of H-bomb warfare. We agreed to make a joint pronouncement on this subject in conjunction with many eminent men of science who were willing to co-operate. I drew up a statement and sent it to Einstein. Before getting an answer from him, while traveling by air from Rome to Paris, I learned of his death. On arrival in Paris, I found his letter agreeing to sign. This must have been one of the last acts of his life.
We met from time to time, but I did not see much of him except while he was living in Princeton in 1943. At that time I used to go to his house once a week to discuss various matters in the philosophy of science with him and Pauli and Godel. Pauli and Godel are both very eminent in their respective fields, but Einstein was of course outstanding even among the most eminent. I found these informal discussions very illuminating, and exceedingly valuable.
Einstein's attitude as regards the acceptance or rejection of scientific theory was very different from that recommended by Francis Bacon. One must, of course, know the facts. But a theory if it is to have any value, must not emerge from careful collection and collation of individual observations. It must emerge, rather, as a sudden imaginative insight, like that of a poet or composer. When Eddington undertook to verify Einstein's predictions by observation of the eclipse of 1919, Einstein was much less interested in the result than Eddington was. I was reminded of the story about a female admirer of Whistler who told him she had seen Battersea Bridge looking just like it did in one of his pictures, to which Whistler replied "Ah, Nature's coming on!" One felt that Einstein thought the solar system was coming on when it decided to confirm one of his predictions. It is difficult to turn Einstein's method into a set of textbook maxims for the guidance of students. The recipe would have read as follows: "First acquire a transcendent genius and an all embracing imagination, then learn your subject and wait for illumination." It is the first part of this recipe that offers difficulties.
Einstein was an extraordinarily satisfactory human being. In spite of his genius and fame, he always behaved with complete simplicity and never seemed to be claiming any superiority. His work, and his violin brought him, I believe, a considerable measure of happiness, but his wide sympathies and his concern with the destiny of mankind prevented him from acquiring an undue measure of serenity. I never saw in him any trace, however faint, of vanity or envy, which are the vices to which even the greatest men, such as Newton and Liebnitz, are prone.
Einstein, though out his life, cared for the individual and for individual liberty. He showed himself, all the courage that his circumstances demanded and called upon others, often without success, to show equal courage. He had seen individual freedom lost in Germany with the advent of the Nazi, and he was quickly perceptive of any danger of a like disaster in other countries. He had small respect for the Big Battalions, and his attitude to governments was very like that of the Hebrew prophets. He was not only a great scientist, but a great man, a man who it is good to have known and consoling to contemplate.