The World As I See It

by Albert Einstein

The Meaning of Life WHAT IS THE MEANING of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer this question at all implies a religion. Is there any sense then, you ask, in putting it? I answer, the man who regards his own life and that of his fellow-creatures as meaningless is not merely unfortunate but almost disqualified for life.

The ordinary objects of human endeavour-properly, outward success, luxury-have always seemed to me contemptible.

The thing that has brought discredit upon the prevailing form of democracy in Europe to-day is not to be laid to the door of the democratic idea as such, but to lack of stability on the part of the heads of governments and to the impersonal character of the electoral system.

War

I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures,

Each of us has to do his little bit towards transforming this spirit of the times.

Let every man judge according to his own standards, by what he has himself read, not by what others tell him.

The individual is what he is and has the significance that he has not so much in virtue of his individuality, but rather as a member of a great human society, which directs his material and spiritual existence from the cradle to the grave.

Without creative, independently thinking and judging personalities the upward development of society is as unthinkable as the development of the individual personality without the nourishing soil of the community.

In two weeks the sheep-like masses can be worked up by the newspapers into such a state of excited fury that the men are prepared to put on uniform and kill and be killed, for the sake of the worthless aims of a few interested parties.

In my opinion, the present symptoms of decadence are explained by the fact that the development of industry and machinery has made the struggle for existence very much more severe, greatly to the detriment of the free development of the individual. But the development of machinery means that less and less work is needed from the individual for the satisfaction of the community’s needs. A planned division of labour is becoming more and more of a crying necessity, and this division will lead to the material security of the individual. This security and the spare time and energy which the individual will have at his command can be made to further his development. In this way the community may regain its health, and we will hope that future historians will explain the morbid symptoms of present-day society as the childhood ailments of an aspiring humanity, due entirely to the excessive speed at which civilization was advancing.

But the assimilative power of the human intellect is and remains strictly limited. Hence it was inevitable that the activity of the individual investigator should be confined to a smaller and smaller section of human knowledge. Worse still, as a result of this specialization, it is becoming increasingly difficult for even a rough general grasp of science as a whole,

Of Wealth I AM ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED that no wealth in the world can help humanity forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure characters is the only thing that can produce fine ideas and noble deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and always tempts its owners irresistibly to abuse it.

Therefore pocket your temperament and keep your manuscript for your sons and daughters, in order that they may derive consolation from it and-not give a damn for what their teachers tell them or think of them.

There is too much education altogether, especially in American schools. The only rational way of educating is to be an example-of what to avoid, if one can’t be the other sort.

(The principal art of the teacher is to awaken the joy in creation and knowledge.)

The passions of nationalism have destroyed this community of the intellect, and the Latin language, which once united the whole world, is dead.

With primitive man it is above all fear that evokes religious notions-fear of hunger, wild beasts, sickness, death.

The religions of all civilized peoples, especially the peoples of the Orient, are primarily moral religions. The development from a religion of fear to moral religion is a great step in a nation’s life.

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 man’s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.

Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear and punishment and hope of reward after death.

A contemporary has said, not unjustly, that in this materialistic age of ours the serious scientific workers are the only profoundly religious people.

Where scientific enquiry is stunted the intellectual life of the nation dries up, which means the withering of many possibilities of future development.

the pursuit of scientific truth, detached from the practical interests of everyday life, ought to be treated as sacred by every Government,

the Press, which is mostly controlled by definite interests, has an excessive influence over public opinion.

One has to realize that the powerful industrial groups concerned in the manufacture of arms are doing their best in all countries to prevent the peaceful settlement of international disputes,

in future none but mercenary armies should be permitted,

private enterprise should be left its sphere of activity, in so far as it has not already been eliminated by industry itself in the form of cartelization.

Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work.

I did not wish to live in a country where the individual does not enjoy equality before the law and freedom to say and teach what he likes.

the establishment of satisfactory relations between the Jews and the Arabs is not England’s affair but ours.

is for us to solve the problem of living side by side with our brother the Arab in an open, generous, and worthy manner.

We need to pay great attention to our relations with the Arabs.

This goal is perfectly within our reach, because our work of construction has been, and must continue to be, carried out in such a manner as to serve the real interests of the Arab population also.

Our forefathers in those days were pretty poor specimens intellectually and physically, but socially speaking they enjoyed an enviable spiritual equilibrium.

Remember that difficulties and obstacles are a valuable source of health and strength to any society.

is, moreover, this working class alone that has it in its power to establish healthy relations with the Arabs, which is the most important political task of Zionism.

The greatest enemies of the national consciousness and honour of the Jews are fatty degeneration-by which I mean the unconscionableness which comes from wealth and ease-and

If we did not have to live among intolerant, narrow-minded, and violent people, I should be the first to throw over all nationalism in favour of universal humanity.

IF ONE PURGES THE Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity.