My Life and My Views

by Max Born

The reader of this book is introduced by Max Born to his own scientific work and extraordinary achievement. Born is one of the founders of quantum mechanics, a major intellectual accomplishment of the twentieth century, comparable to such other feats in scientific thought as the Newtonian philosophy and the Darwinian revolution. For his contributions to quantum mechanics, Born was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics. One learns that Born did not become involved in nuclear fusion and its applications to the atomic bomb. This enables him to consider the ethical and political questions connected with the bomb from an objective viewpoint. It is to these questions that most of the essays in the volume are addressed. Born is concerned with two major questions: Can human affairs be regulated without the use of force? Can the current decline of ethics and morality be reversed? More simply stated, Is there hope for man's future? His position ranges from darkest pessimism and despair to optimism and hope. In the moving final essay he exhorts: "But we must hope!" He speaks of hope as "a moving force", for he is convinced: Only if we hope do we act in order to bring fulfillment of the hope nearer." It is Born's dedication as a teacher and his deep insight into the material universe enlightened by philosophical understanding that makes this collection of writings so profound. And it is his social conscience that makes the essays so relevant and so significant

Genres: Physics, Biography

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Max Born (was a German-British physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a number of notable physicists in the 1920s and 30s. Born won the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics (shared with Walther Bothe).

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished the month of July with a bang with the completion of Max Born’s My Life and My Views. One part memoir, one part essay collection, this book gives the reader a glimpse into his thoughts on a range of topics in both science and philosophy. A fascinating read knowing that in his earlier years Born had a lengthy ongoing correspondence with Albert Einstein, back in the days when ongoing written letter exchanges were still common. Worth a read if you’re into scientists/science of this era - which to me is a fascinating time period to read about.

[Richard]

The essays collected in this book once more confirmed the role of the atomic bomb as one of the major events in science history. Max Born very often refers to this turning point in human history, when it became clear that there was no such thing as pure science anymore; scientists indeed have a huge impact on current affairs and affect large portions of the population in big ways. Born at the close of the 20th century, these books offer me a glimpse into a time when scientists in Europe were rock stars and physics was dominated by a selected number of ingenious researchers who all knew each other.

I especially liked his remark that the development of the atomic bomb could not have been prevented, i.e. that a society would eventually learn about nuclear physics. Also, he states numerous times that a fatal accident of history happened: The discovery of fission by Otto Hahn in Hitler's Germany. As a result, many feared a nazi-dominated world order if Hitler could get his hands on nuclear bombs first, hence the monumental effort of Project Manhattan.