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Einstein Was A Genius, Not A Mystic |
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 by Tamar Fox, May 15, 2008 |
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On Tuesday Michael posted about Einstein’s apparent atheism. The letter in which Einstein wrote “The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish” is up for auction this week, and is expected to garner upwards of $12,00 at Bloomsbury Auctions in London.
Who Cares?: He never claimed to be a mystic
Einstein was notoriously ambivalent about his spiritual convictions, so I’m not sure the letter proves anything other than what he was thinking at the exact moment he wrote it. But it certainly makes me wonder about Einstein’s feasibility as a religious role model for anyone. The man was a patent clerk turned nuclear physicist. Though charming and unquestionably brilliant, he was not a theologian, and never purported to be one. He may have thought seriously about matters of God and religion, but I’ve never read anything that suggests he spent significant time studying the Bible or any other Jewish texts (most biographies cite a brief religious phase lasting for a year or two before he turned 13). He knew physics, and though he thought about God, Judaism and Torah on his own, he had no serious training or background in the subject matter.
Would you go to your rabbi for financial advice? Would you ask a cantor to design you a car? Is the woman who fills your cavities the best person to go to when you need help filing your taxes? Of course not.
One doesn’t need to go to rabbinical school to have a well-developed personal theology, and being an atheist doesn’t necessarily indicate a lack of knowledge of Jewish texts. That said, Einstein’s brilliance in math and physics simply does not convert to spirituality.
We live in a world where we elect bodybuilders to be governors, and movie stars coach us in “the history of psychiatry.” But these crossovers are inevitably embarrassing and unsuccessful. Genius isn’t necessarily transferable, and that’s okay.
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Anonymous
Spot on! But tell the truth, if the letter "proved" that E = G, if it illustrated that Einstein really believed in God, would you have written these words?
Yaakov
"We live in a world where we elect bodybuilders to be governors, and movie stars coach us in “the history of psychiatry.” But these crossovers are inevitably embarrassing and unsuccessful"
Consider removing the reference to bodybuilders. Arnold's doing a pretty good job in California, certainly less embarrasing and more successfull than other large state Governors (Elliot Spitzer ofr NY, for example). Otherwise, I agree with you.
DT
Genius isn't necessarily transferable, but sometimes it is. Should I take advice on what to believe about the universe from the man who best explained how the universe works?
It doesn't sound so crazy when it's phrased that way, does it?
You write that crossovers are "inevitably" embarrassing and unsuccessful. The examples you gave may or may not have been unsuccessful (there's clearly some dissent among the comments), but it's hard to generalize that to all crossovers. In this case, the fields of expertise don't seem to be too far away from one another.
I'm also not sure what spirituality has to do with theology. One is a personal mindset, the other is an academic discipline.
Anonymous
Tamar, it seems you're just refusing to hear what was unambiguously presented. Yes, he used "God" as a metaphor, but whenever he was pressed on the issue, his atheism was apparent. In addition, I think Einstein was as qualified to talk about spirituality as any Rabbi--probably more qualified, in some cases.
David Strauss
I don't know the first thing about how to read tarot cards, but that doesn't make me unqualified to dispute their legitimacy. Religious Judaism and Christianity are premised on faith in God. No matter how many years humans have practiced them or how many texts have glorified their name, these religions fundamentally hinge on this logically fragile concept.
Suggesting Einstein's atheism was a passing phase is also suspect, especially when the only evidence you present to back his ambivalence is a brief religious phase in his youth. I had a brief faithful phase in my youth, but it was mostly characterized by logical acrobatics to avoid removing God from the picture. I've been pretty firmly atheist ever since.
Anonymous
So the only people qualified to discuss whether or not God exists, or the nature of God, are theologians? Why? If you don't believe in the Bible or the Torah, why would you need to talk to a theologian? Christians and Jews believe in God based on Faith...they don't need theologians to validate their beliefs. So, wouldn't an agnostic or atheist base their beliefs on a faith in science? Wouldn't a scientist be the most qualified person to speak with regarding this subject if you Bible if you base your beliefs in science. You're right, he's not a mystic. He's a scientist. Einstein believes in some type of force....clearly...a God if you will. He's not an atheist. But, he doesn't believe in mythology (i.e. Bible or Torah). Do you need to be a theologian to figure out that the Bible and the Torah were written by man and not a mythical God?
WDK
There's an old saying: if you want to know about consitutional law, ask a consitutional lawyer. If you want to know about particle physics, ask a particle physicist. But if you want to know about Torah, well... just ask anyone. As Tamar suggests, in terms of knowledge of Torah--a linguistic science if you will forgive the term--it was Einstein who was just anyone...
WDK/www.openmindedtorah.blogspot.com
sabanaa
Einstein indicated that he thought some sort of divine presence must have wrought the mathematical patterns that are at work in the universe. When asked if he was religious, Einstein is quoted as saying, "Yes, you can call it that. Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion."