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| Category: Spirituality |
Date published: November 11, 2005 |
Einstein's Philosophy
by Alicia Mae
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This 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 and the whole of nature in its beauty."
I believe this statement consists of many layers. First is his belief in the connectivity of all living creatures under the term "universe". Second is his compassion for all living things. Thirdly is the idea that we delude ourselves with feelings of isolation and restricting our feelings to a select few rather than sharing with all. I agree with him on these points. We each feel we are separate and that noone else could possibly know what it is in our heads, yet we spend our lives searching for that supposed one who does. I also believe we are part of a larger whole and that we can better our existence by helping those around us, by being compassionate and loving, to share and accept all rather than wait for one or a few. This interconnectedness is something I have developed a sense of rather recently in my adult life.
The most amazing thing I've read Einstein having said though is that "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed." And I would have to agree!
Einstein is best known as a physicist and scientist, but he was even more so a philosopher, as all great scientists are. The highest degree in the scientific field is a PhD, a doctorate of philosophy! Earlier scientists would contemplate not only biology, chemistry, or physics, but how these fields affected society and humanity, how findings in these fields illuminated our understanding of ourselves and there are many ideologies that came from these thinkers. "Scientists were rated as great heretics by the church, but they were truly religious men because of their faith in the orderliness of the universe." "All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom." Isn't freedom all any of us seek? From ourselves most of all?
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In My Opinion
