Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
God doesn't do Math.
maybe because his math teacher taught gym...
HarvardrCOs Department of Mathematics is starting a baby math section
for the freshmen they accepted.
I'm going to Harvard!
BABY MATH! I KNOW DAT STUFF!!
2 plus 2 equal 22
On 12/17/2025 4:44 PM, The Starmaker wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
God doesn't do Math.
maybe because his math teacher taught gym...
HarvardAs Department of Mathematics is starting a baby math section
for the freshmen they accepted.
I'm going to Harvard!
BABY MATH! I KNOW DAT STUFF!!
2 plus 2 equal 22
In his very last letter just before he died, Professor Einstein stated
that, "you may call me an agnostic."
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
God doesn't do Math.
maybe because his math teacher taught gym...
HarvardrCOs Department of Mathematics is starting a baby math section
for the freshmen they accepted.
I'm going to Harvard!
BABY MATH! I KNOW DAT STUFF!!
2 plus 2 equal 22
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 19:00:27 -0600, Dawn Flood
<Dawn.Belle.Flood@gmail.com> wrote:
On 12/17/2025 4:44 PM, The Starmaker wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
God doesn't do Math.
maybe because his math teacher taught gym...
HarvardrCOs Department of Mathematics is starting a baby math section
for the freshmen they accepted.
I'm going to Harvard!
BABY MATH! I KNOW DAT STUFF!!
2 plus 2 equal 22
In his very last letter just before he died, Professor Einstein stated
that, "you may call me an agnostic."
I'm sure Professor Einstein would then say..."I never said I was an
absolute agnostic!"
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 19:00:27 -0600, Dawn Flood
<Dawn.Belle.Flood@gmail.com> wrote:
On 12/17/2025 4:44 PM, The Starmaker wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
God doesn't do Math.
maybe because his math teacher taught gym...
HarvardrCOs Department of Mathematics is starting a baby math section
for the freshmen they accepted.
I'm going to Harvard!
BABY MATH! I KNOW DAT STUFF!!
2 plus 2 equal 22
In his very last letter just before he died, Professor Einstein stated
that, "you may call me an agnostic."
I'm sure Professor Einstein would then say..."I never said I was an
absolute agnostic!"
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
On 12/21/2025 1:25 AM, The Starmaker wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God ,
the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will-a-a , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive today,
he may have thought differently about some things?!-a Agreed??
Dawn Flood wrote:
On 12/21/2025 1:25 AM, The Starmaker wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive today, he
may have thought differently about some things?! Agreed??
he wouldnt be able to get the patent clerk job because requirements have probably become too much for him.
Dawn Flood wrote:
On 12/21/2025 1:25 AM, The Starmaker wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion)
is called Spinoza's God ,
the God Einstein believes in.
No Free Will-a-a , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive today,
he may have thought differently about some things?!-a Agreed??
he wouldnt be able to get the patent clerk job because
requirements have probably become too much for him.
On 12/21/2025 1:25 AM, The Starmaker wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive today, he may >have thought differently about some things?! Agreed??
jojo wrote:
Dawn Flood wrote:
On 12/21/2025 1:25 AM, The Starmaker wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion)
Oversimplified.
is called Spinoza's God ,
No. Instead, Einstein subscribed to an idea of "God" the same as the Dutch philosopher, Baruch Spinoza (who was excommunicated by the Jewish community of Amsterdam because of that).
the God Einstein believes in.
"Belief" should not be understood in terms of "religion" here. Einstein was an atheist (by his own account), an agnostic at best (also by his own account). He often referred to that "god" tongue-in-cheek as "der Alte" (German for "the Old Man"). That is not what a true believer in a deity would do.
No Free Will-a-a , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
That is only part of what Spinoza's idea of "God" is all about. It is
mainly about that "God" would be manifested in all things (without having created the Universe; and not all attributes of "God" would be manifested); but they would not communicate with humans, would not consider them or Earth special, would not have a plan for them or any individual, nor would they exert any subsequent influence on the Universe.
It is an ongoing discussion whether that makes Spinoza an atheist; but if
so, then Einstein, who by his own account subscribed to that worldview, was an atheist, too.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza#Pantheism> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza#Metaphysics>
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive today,
he may have thought differently about some things?!-a Agreed??
he wouldnt be able to get the patent clerk job because
requirements have probably become too much for him.
*facepalm*
Under which rock does one have to live to reduce Einstein to that job?
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) only worked at the Swiss Patent Office for 7 years (!) of his life (1902-1909), and from at least 1905 on his friend Michele Besso did most of his work there (by Einstein's design, and Besso happily did it) as that was only a fallback as he could not earn enough
money as a private teacher to support his wife and newborn son. As Besso
was doing his work *and* Einstein's, Einstein had more time to develop his theories, which they talked about after work (especially Besso's support in developing special relativity is well-documented by Einstein in a "thank
you" note at the end of the first paper on that).
Most of his life, from 1908 on, Einstein worked as a university professor of Physics and as a theoretical physicist.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein#Life_and_career>
F'up2 sci.physics
On 12/22/2025 12:07 PM, Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:
jojo wrote:
Dawn Flood wrote:
On 12/21/2025 1:25 AM, The Starmaker wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion)
Oversimplified.
is called Spinoza's God ,
No.-a Instead, Einstein subscribed to an idea of "God" the same
as the Dutch
philosopher, Baruch Spinoza (who was excommunicated by the
Jewish community
of Amsterdam because of that).
the God Einstein believes in.
"Belief" should not be understood in terms of "religion" here.
Einstein was
an atheist (by his own account), an agnostic at best (also by
his own
account).-a He often referred to that "god" tongue-in-cheek as
"der Alte"
(German for "the Old Man").-a That is not what a true believer
in a deity
would do.
No Free Will-a-a , human free will is an illusion; our choices
are
determined by natural causes.
That is only part of what Spinoza's idea of "God" is all
about.-a It is
mainly about that "God" would be manifested in all things
(without having
created the Universe; and not all attributes of "God" would be
manifested);
but they would not communicate with humans, would not consider
them or Earth
special, would not have a plan for them or any individual, nor
would they
exert any subsequent influence on the Universe.
It is an ongoing discussion whether that makes Spinoza an
atheist; but if
so, then Einstein, who by his own account subscribed to that
worldview, was
an atheist, too.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza#Pantheism>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza#Metaphysics>
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive
today,
he may have thought differently about some things?!-a Agreed??
he wouldnt be able to get the patent clerk job because
requirements have probably become too much for him.
*facepalm*
Under which rock does one have to live to reduce Einstein to
that job?
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) only worked at the Swiss Patent
Office for 7
years (!) of his life (1902-1909), and from at least 1905 on
his friend
Michele Besso did most of his work there (by Einstein's design,
and Besso
happily did it) as that was only a fallback as he could not
earn enough
money as a private teacher to support his wife and newborn
son.-a As Besso
was doing his work *and* Einstein's, Einstein had more time to
develop his
theories, which they talked about after work (especially
Besso's support in
developing special relativity is well-documented by Einstein in
a "thank
you" note at the end of the first paper on that).
Most of his life, from 1908 on, Einstein worked as a university
professor of
Physics and as a theoretical physicist.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein#Life_and_career>
F'up2 sci.physics
Cool!-a This goes to show you that getting a job as an academician
is really, really hard, even if one is a genius!-a I am, of
course, excluding "sponsorship," which can be for various (blush)
reasons.
Dawn
Dawn Flood wrote:
On 12/21/2025 1:25 AM, The Starmaker wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will-a-a , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive today, he
may have thought differently about some things?!-a Agreed??
he wouldnt be able to get the patent clerk job because requirements have probably become too much for him.
Am Montag000022, 22.12.2025 um 17:24 schrieb jojo:
Dawn Flood wrote:
On 12/21/2025 1:25 AM, The Starmaker wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God ,
the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will-a-a , human free will is an illusion; our choices
are
determined by natural causes.
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive
today, he may have thought differently about some things?!
Agreed??
he wouldnt be able to get the patent clerk job because
requirements have probably become too much for him.
He would have several problems today:
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_clearance
Quote
"A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing
them access to classified information (state or organizational
secrets) or to restricted areas,.."
2)https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamter_(Schweiz)
Switzerland has no 'Beamte' like in Germany. But you need to be
elected into an office.
The question would be, whether or not Einstein would be eligible
today.
3)https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/themen/fza_schweiz-eu-efta/eu-efta_buerger_schweiz.html
It would be next to impossible for Einstein today, to enter, go
to school, study and work in Switzerland as stateless alien.
4) he was actually educated as a teacher. Most likely this
wouldn't be sufficient for the patent office today.
TH
Am Montag000022, 22.12.2025 um 17:24 schrieb jojo:
Dawn Flood wrote:
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive today, he
may have thought differently about some things?!-a Agreed??
he wouldnt be able to get the patent clerk job because requirements have
probably become too much for him.
He would have several problems today:
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_clearance
Quote
"A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas,.."
2)https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamter_(Schweiz)
Switzerland has no 'Beamte' like in Germany. But you need to be elected
into an office.
Thomas Heger wrote:
Am Montag000022, 22.12.2025 um 17:24 schrieb jojo:
Dawn Flood wrote:
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive today, he
may have thought differently about some things?!-a Agreed??
he wouldnt be able to get the patent clerk job because requirements have >>> probably become too much for him.
He would have several problems today:
You completely missed the point again. Granted, it was a weak, trollish point, easy to miss.
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_clearance
Quote
"A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them
access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to
restricted areas,.."
Einstein already did not get a security clearance for working on the Manhattan Project.
2)https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamter_(Schweiz)
Switzerland has no 'Beamte' like in Germany. But you need to be elected
into an office.
Nonsense.
F'up2 poster
Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:^^^^
^^^^^Thomas Heger wrote:
[...]
i'm confused.. are you replying to yourself???
Thomas Heger wrote:
Am Montag000022, 22.12.2025 um 17:24 schrieb jojo:
Dawn Flood wrote:
Professor Einstein died 75 years ago; now, if he was alive today, he
may have thought differently about some things?!-a Agreed??
he wouldnt be able to get the patent clerk job because requirements have >>> probably become too much for him.
He would have several problems today:
You completely missed the point again. Granted, it was a weak, trollish point, easy to miss.
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_clearance
Quote
"A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them
access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to
restricted areas,.."
Einstein already did not get a security clearance for working on the Manhattan Project.
2)https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamter_(Schweiz)
Switzerland has no 'Beamte' like in Germany. But you need to be elected
into an office.
Nonsense.
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God >>Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
Here are some quotes by Albert Einstein that appear to me was
influenced by Spinoza's God:
If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the
earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly >convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the
strength of a resolution taken once and for all. So would a Being,
endowed with higher insight and more perfect intelligence, watching
man and his doings, smile about man's illusion that he was acting
according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I do not believe in free will. Schopenhauer's words: 'Man can do what
he wants, but he cannot will what he wills,' accompany me in all
situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of
others, even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the
lack of free will keeps me from taking myself and my fellow men too
seriously as acting and deciding individuals, and from losing my
temper.
Albert Einstein
Human beings, in their thinking, feeling and acting are not free
agents but are as causally bound as the stars in their motion.
Albert Einstein
So would a Being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect
intelligence, watching man and his doings, smile about man's illusion
that he was acting according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I agree with your remark about loving your enemy as far as actions are >concerned. But for me the cognitive basis is the trust in an
unrestricted causality. 'I cannot hate him, because he must do what he
does.' That means for me more Spinoza than the prophets.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free
will...Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act as if freedom
of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I
must act as if man is a responsible being.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews
believe in free will. They believe that man shapes his own life. I
reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew.
Albert Einstein
On Sat, 20 Dec 2025 23:25:14 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God
Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
Here are some quotes by Albert Einstein that appear to me was
influenced by Spinoza's God:
If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the
earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly
convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the
strength of a resolution taken once and for all. So would a Being,
endowed with higher insight and more perfect intelligence, watching
man and his doings, smile about man's illusion that he was acting
according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I do not believe in free will. Schopenhauer's words: 'Man can do what
he wants, but he cannot will what he wills,' accompany me in all
situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of
others, even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the
lack of free will keeps me from taking myself and my fellow men too
seriously as acting and deciding individuals, and from losing my
temper.
Albert Einstein
Human beings, in their thinking, feeling and acting are not free
agents but are as causally bound as the stars in their motion.
Albert Einstein
So would a Being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect
intelligence, watching man and his doings, smile about man's illusion
that he was acting according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I agree with your remark about loving your enemy as far as actions are
concerned. But for me the cognitive basis is the trust in an
unrestricted causality. 'I cannot hate him, because he must do what he
does.' That means for me more Spinoza than the prophets.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free
will...Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act as if freedom
of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I
must act as if man is a responsible being.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews
believe in free will. They believe that man shapes his own life. I
reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew.
Albert Einstein
More...I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will.
"In a sense," he added, "we can hold no one responsible. I am a
determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews believe
in free willuthey believe that man shapes his own life. I reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew."
"DonAt you believe that man is a free agent, at least in a limited
sense?"
Einstein smiled ingratiatingly. "I believe with Schopenhauer: *We can
do what we wish, but we can only wish what we must.* Practically, I am nevertheless compelled to act as if freedom of the will existed. If I
wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a
responsible being.
"I know that philosophically a murderer is not responsible for his
crime; nevertheless, I must protect myself from unpleasant contacts. I
may consider him guiltless, but I prefer not to take tea with him."
"Do you mean to say that you did not choose your own career, but that
your actions were predetermined by some power outside yourself?"
**The Danger of Too Much Analysis**
"My own career was undoubtedly determined not by my own will, but by various factors over which I have no controluprimarily those
mysterious glands in which Nature prepares the very essence of life:
our internal secretions."
"It may interest you," I interjected, "that Henry Ford once told me
he, too, did not carve out his own life, but that all his actions were determined by an inner voice."
"Ford," Einstein replied, "may call it his inner voice. Socrates
referred to it as his *daimon.* We moderns prefer to speak of our
glands or internal secretions. Each explains in his own way the
undeniable fact that the human will is not free."
"DonAt you deliberately ignore all psychic factors in human
development? What, for instance," I asked, "is your attitude toward
the subconscious? According to Freud, psychic events registered
indelibly in our nether mind make and mar our lives."
"Whereas materialistic historians and philosophers neglect psychic realities, Freud is inclined to overstress their importance. I am not
a psychologist, but it seems to me fairly evident that physiological factorsuespecially our endocrinesucontrol our destiny."
"Then you do not believe in psychoanalysis?"
"I am not," Einstein modestly replied, "able to venture a judgment on
so important a phase of modern thought. However, it seems to me that psychoanalysis is not always salutary. It may not always be helpful to
delve into the subconscious. The machinery of our legs is controlled
by a hundred different muscles. Do you think it would help us to walk
if we analyzed our legs and knew exactly which of the little muscles
must be employed in locomotion and the order in which they work?
"Perhaps," he added with the whimsical smile that sometimes lights up
the somber pools of his eyes like a will-oA-the-wisp, "you remember
the story of the toad and the centipede? The centipede was very proud
of having one hundred legs. His neighbor, the toad, was much depressed because he had only four. One day, a diabolic inspiration prompted the
toad to write a letter to the centipede as follows:
*Honored Sir: Can you tell me which one of your hundred legs you move
first when you transfer your distinguished body from one place to
another, and in what order you move the other ninety-nine legs?*
"When the centipede received this letter, he began to think. He tried
first one leg, then another. Finally, to his consternation, he
discovered that he was unable to move a single leg. He could no longer
walk at alluhe was paralyzed!
"It is possible," Einstein concluded, "that analysis may paralyze our mental and emotional processes in a similar manner."
"Are you then an opponent of Freud?"
"By no means. I am not prepared to accept all his conclusions, but I consider his work an immensely valuable contribution to the science of
human behavior. I think he is even greater as a writer than as a psychologist. FreudAs brilliant style is unsurpassed by anyone since Schopenhauer."
There was a pause, filled by more fruit salad and strawberry juice.
"Is there," I resumed the conversation, "such a thing as progress in
the story of human effort?"
"The only progress I can see is progress in organization. The
ordinary human being does not live long enough to draw any substantial benefit from his own experience. And no one, it seems, can benefit by
the experiences of others. Being both a father and a teacher, I know
we can teach our children nothing. We can transmit to them neither our knowledge of life nor of mathematics. Each must learn its lesson
anew."
"But," I interjected, "nature crystallizes our experiences. The
experiences of one generation are the instincts of the next."
"Ah," Einstein remarked, "that is true. But it takes Nature ten
thousand or ten million years to transmit inherited experiences or characteristics. It must have taken the bees and the ants aeons before
they learned to adapt themselves so marvelously to their environments.
Human beings, alas, seem to learn more slowly than insects."
"Do you think that mankind will eventually evolve the superman?"
"If so," Einstein replied, "it will be a matter of millions of
years."
"You donAt agree with NietzscheAs sister that Mussolini is the
superman prophesied by her brother?"
Again a smile illuminated EinsteinAs features, but it was not as
jovial as before. A pacifist and internationalist, Einstein is the
very antithesis of the dictator. Although he denies the freedom of the
will philosophically, Einstein resents any attempt to circumscribe
still further the limited sphere within which the human will may exert
itself with the illusion of freedom.
"If we owe so little to the experience of others, how do you account
for sudden leaps forward in the sphere of science? Do you ascribe your
own discoveries to intuition or inspiration?"
**The Meaning of Mankind**
"I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right; I do not *know* that I am. When two expeditions of scientists, financed by the Royal Academy, went forth to test my theory of
relativity, I was convinced their conclusions would tally with my
hypothesis. I was not surprised when the eclipse of May 29, 1919
confirmed my intuitions. I would have been surprised if I had been
wrong."
"Then you trust more to your imagination than to your knowledge?"
"I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
--
The Starmaker -- To question the unquestionable, ask the unaskable,
to think the unthinkable, mention the unmentionable, and challenge
the unchallengeable.
On Sat, 20 Dec 2025 23:25:14 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God >>>Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are >>>determined by natural causes.
Here are some quotes by Albert Einstein that appear to me was
influenced by Spinoza's God:
If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the
earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly >>convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the
strength of a resolution taken once and for all. So would a Being,
endowed with higher insight and more perfect intelligence, watching
man and his doings, smile about man's illusion that he was acting
according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I do not believe in free will. Schopenhauer's words: 'Man can do what
he wants, but he cannot will what he wills,' accompany me in all
situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of
others, even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the
lack of free will keeps me from taking myself and my fellow men too >>seriously as acting and deciding individuals, and from losing my
temper.
Albert Einstein
Human beings, in their thinking, feeling and acting are not free
agents but are as causally bound as the stars in their motion.
Albert Einstein
So would a Being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect >>intelligence, watching man and his doings, smile about man's illusion
that he was acting according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I agree with your remark about loving your enemy as far as actions are >>concerned. But for me the cognitive basis is the trust in an
unrestricted causality. 'I cannot hate him, because he must do what he >>does.' That means for me more Spinoza than the prophets.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free
will...Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act as if freedom
of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I
must act as if man is a responsible being.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews >>believe in free will. They believe that man shapes his own life. I
reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew. >>Albert Einstein
More...I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will.
"In a sense," he added, "we can hold no one responsible. I am a
determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews believe
in free willuthey believe that man shapes his own life. I reject that >doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew."
"DonAt you believe that man is a free agent, at least in a limited
sense?"
Einstein smiled ingratiatingly. "I believe with Schopenhauer: *We can
do what we wish, but we can only wish what we must.* Practically, I am >nevertheless compelled to act as if freedom of the will existed. If I
wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a
responsible being.
"I know that philosophically a murderer is not responsible for his
crime; nevertheless, I must protect myself from unpleasant contacts. I
may consider him guiltless, but I prefer not to take tea with him."
"Do you mean to say that you did not choose your own career, but that
your actions were predetermined by some power outside yourself?"
**The Danger of Too Much Analysis**
"My own career was undoubtedly determined not by my own will, but by
various factors over which I have no controluprimarily those
mysterious glands in which Nature prepares the very essence of life:
our internal secretions."
"It may interest you," I interjected, "that Henry Ford once told me
he, too, did not carve out his own life, but that all his actions were >determined by an inner voice."
"Ford," Einstein replied, "may call it his inner voice. Socrates
referred to it as his *daimon.* We moderns prefer to speak of our
glands or internal secretions. Each explains in his own way the
undeniable fact that the human will is not free."
"DonAt you deliberately ignore all psychic factors in human
development? What, for instance," I asked, "is your attitude toward
the subconscious? According to Freud, psychic events registered
indelibly in our nether mind make and mar our lives."
"Whereas materialistic historians and philosophers neglect psychic
realities, Freud is inclined to overstress their importance. I am not
a psychologist, but it seems to me fairly evident that physiological >factorsuespecially our endocrinesucontrol our destiny."
"Then you do not believe in psychoanalysis?"
"I am not," Einstein modestly replied, "able to venture a judgment on
so important a phase of modern thought. However, it seems to me that >psychoanalysis is not always salutary. It may not always be helpful to
delve into the subconscious. The machinery of our legs is controlled
by a hundred different muscles. Do you think it would help us to walk
if we analyzed our legs and knew exactly which of the little muscles
must be employed in locomotion and the order in which they work?
"Perhaps," he added with the whimsical smile that sometimes lights up
the somber pools of his eyes like a will-oA-the-wisp, "you remember
the story of the toad and the centipede? The centipede was very proud
of having one hundred legs. His neighbor, the toad, was much depressed >because he had only four. One day, a diabolic inspiration prompted the
toad to write a letter to the centipede as follows:
*Honored Sir: Can you tell me which one of your hundred legs you move
first when you transfer your distinguished body from one place to
another, and in what order you move the other ninety-nine legs?*
"When the centipede received this letter, he began to think. He tried
first one leg, then another. Finally, to his consternation, he
discovered that he was unable to move a single leg. He could no longer
walk at alluhe was paralyzed!
"It is possible," Einstein concluded, "that analysis may paralyze our
mental and emotional processes in a similar manner."
"Are you then an opponent of Freud?"
"By no means. I am not prepared to accept all his conclusions, but I
consider his work an immensely valuable contribution to the science of
human behavior. I think he is even greater as a writer than as a >psychologist. FreudAs brilliant style is unsurpassed by anyone since >Schopenhauer."
There was a pause, filled by more fruit salad and strawberry juice.
"Is there," I resumed the conversation, "such a thing as progress in
the story of human effort?"
"The only progress I can see is progress in organization. The
ordinary human being does not live long enough to draw any substantial >benefit from his own experience. And no one, it seems, can benefit by
the experiences of others. Being both a father and a teacher, I know
we can teach our children nothing. We can transmit to them neither our >knowledge of life nor of mathematics. Each must learn its lesson
anew."
"But," I interjected, "nature crystallizes our experiences. The
experiences of one generation are the instincts of the next."
"Ah," Einstein remarked, "that is true. But it takes Nature ten
thousand or ten million years to transmit inherited experiences or >characteristics. It must have taken the bees and the ants aeons before
they learned to adapt themselves so marvelously to their environments.
Human beings, alas, seem to learn more slowly than insects."
"Do you think that mankind will eventually evolve the superman?"
"If so," Einstein replied, "it will be a matter of millions of
years."
"You donAt agree with NietzscheAs sister that Mussolini is the
superman prophesied by her brother?"
Again a smile illuminated EinsteinAs features, but it was not as
jovial as before. A pacifist and internationalist, Einstein is the
very antithesis of the dictator. Although he denies the freedom of the
will philosophically, Einstein resents any attempt to circumscribe
still further the limited sphere within which the human will may exert
itself with the illusion of freedom.
"If we owe so little to the experience of others, how do you account
for sudden leaps forward in the sphere of science? Do you ascribe your
own discoveries to intuition or inspiration?"
**The Meaning of Mankind**
"I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am
right; I do not *know* that I am. When two expeditions of scientists, >financed by the Royal Academy, went forth to test my theory of
relativity, I was convinced their conclusions would tally with my
hypothesis. I was not surprised when the eclipse of May 29, 1919
confirmed my intuitions. I would have been surprised if I had been
wrong."
"Then you trust more to your imagination than to your knowledge?"
"I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. >Imagination encircles the world."
On Sat, 31 Jan 2026 23:38:55 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
On Sat, 20 Dec 2025 23:25:14 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker >>><starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God >>>>Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are >>>>determined by natural causes.
Here are some quotes by Albert Einstein that appear to me was
influenced by Spinoza's God:
If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the
earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly >>>convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the
strength of a resolution taken once and for all. So would a Being, >>>endowed with higher insight and more perfect intelligence, watching
man and his doings, smile about man's illusion that he was acting >>>according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I do not believe in free will. Schopenhauer's words: 'Man can do what
he wants, but he cannot will what he wills,' accompany me in all >>>situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of >>>others, even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the
lack of free will keeps me from taking myself and my fellow men too >>>seriously as acting and deciding individuals, and from losing my
temper.
Albert Einstein
Human beings, in their thinking, feeling and acting are not free
agents but are as causally bound as the stars in their motion.
Albert Einstein
So would a Being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect >>>intelligence, watching man and his doings, smile about man's illusion >>>that he was acting according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I agree with your remark about loving your enemy as far as actions are >>>concerned. But for me the cognitive basis is the trust in an
unrestricted causality. 'I cannot hate him, because he must do what he >>>does.' That means for me more Spinoza than the prophets.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free
will...Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act as if freedom
of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I
must act as if man is a responsible being.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews >>>believe in free will. They believe that man shapes his own life. I
reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew. >>>Albert Einstein
More...I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will.
"In a sense," he added, "we can hold no one responsible. I am a >>determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews believe
in free willuthey believe that man shapes his own life. I reject that >>doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew."
"DonAt you believe that man is a free agent, at least in a limited
sense?"
Einstein smiled ingratiatingly. "I believe with Schopenhauer: *We can
do what we wish, but we can only wish what we must.* Practically, I am >>nevertheless compelled to act as if freedom of the will existed. If I
wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a >>responsible being.
"I know that philosophically a murderer is not responsible for his
crime; nevertheless, I must protect myself from unpleasant contacts. I
may consider him guiltless, but I prefer not to take tea with him."
"Do you mean to say that you did not choose your own career, but that
your actions were predetermined by some power outside yourself?"
**The Danger of Too Much Analysis**
"My own career was undoubtedly determined not by my own will, but by >>various factors over which I have no controluprimarily those
mysterious glands in which Nature prepares the very essence of life:
our internal secretions."
"It may interest you," I interjected, "that Henry Ford once told me
he, too, did not carve out his own life, but that all his actions were >>determined by an inner voice."
"Ford," Einstein replied, "may call it his inner voice. Socrates
referred to it as his *daimon.* We moderns prefer to speak of our
glands or internal secretions. Each explains in his own way the
undeniable fact that the human will is not free."
"DonAt you deliberately ignore all psychic factors in human
development? What, for instance," I asked, "is your attitude toward
the subconscious? According to Freud, psychic events registered
indelibly in our nether mind make and mar our lives."
"Whereas materialistic historians and philosophers neglect psychic >>realities, Freud is inclined to overstress their importance. I am not
a psychologist, but it seems to me fairly evident that physiological >>factorsuespecially our endocrinesucontrol our destiny."
"Then you do not believe in psychoanalysis?"
"I am not," Einstein modestly replied, "able to venture a judgment on
so important a phase of modern thought. However, it seems to me that >>psychoanalysis is not always salutary. It may not always be helpful to >>delve into the subconscious. The machinery of our legs is controlled
by a hundred different muscles. Do you think it would help us to walk
if we analyzed our legs and knew exactly which of the little muscles
must be employed in locomotion and the order in which they work?
"Perhaps," he added with the whimsical smile that sometimes lights up
the somber pools of his eyes like a will-oA-the-wisp, "you remember
the story of the toad and the centipede? The centipede was very proud
of having one hundred legs. His neighbor, the toad, was much depressed >>because he had only four. One day, a diabolic inspiration prompted the
toad to write a letter to the centipede as follows:
*Honored Sir: Can you tell me which one of your hundred legs you move >>first when you transfer your distinguished body from one place to
another, and in what order you move the other ninety-nine legs?*
"When the centipede received this letter, he began to think. He tried >>first one leg, then another. Finally, to his consternation, he
discovered that he was unable to move a single leg. He could no longer
walk at alluhe was paralyzed!
"It is possible," Einstein concluded, "that analysis may paralyze our >>mental and emotional processes in a similar manner."
"Are you then an opponent of Freud?"
"By no means. I am not prepared to accept all his conclusions, but I >>consider his work an immensely valuable contribution to the science of >>human behavior. I think he is even greater as a writer than as a >>psychologist. FreudAs brilliant style is unsurpassed by anyone since >>Schopenhauer."
There was a pause, filled by more fruit salad and strawberry juice.
"Is there," I resumed the conversation, "such a thing as progress in
the story of human effort?"
"The only progress I can see is progress in organization. The
ordinary human being does not live long enough to draw any substantial >>benefit from his own experience. And no one, it seems, can benefit by
the experiences of others. Being both a father and a teacher, I know
we can teach our children nothing. We can transmit to them neither our >>knowledge of life nor of mathematics. Each must learn its lesson
anew."
"But," I interjected, "nature crystallizes our experiences. The >>experiences of one generation are the instincts of the next."
"Ah," Einstein remarked, "that is true. But it takes Nature ten
thousand or ten million years to transmit inherited experiences or >>characteristics. It must have taken the bees and the ants aeons before
they learned to adapt themselves so marvelously to their environments. >>Human beings, alas, seem to learn more slowly than insects."
"Do you think that mankind will eventually evolve the superman?"
"If so," Einstein replied, "it will be a matter of millions of
years."
"You donAt agree with NietzscheAs sister that Mussolini is the
superman prophesied by her brother?"
Again a smile illuminated EinsteinAs features, but it was not as
jovial as before. A pacifist and internationalist, Einstein is the
very antithesis of the dictator. Although he denies the freedom of the
will philosophically, Einstein resents any attempt to circumscribe
still further the limited sphere within which the human will may exert >>itself with the illusion of freedom.
"If we owe so little to the experience of others, how do you account
for sudden leaps forward in the sphere of science? Do you ascribe your
own discoveries to intuition or inspiration?"
**The Meaning of Mankind**
"I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am >>right; I do not *know* that I am. When two expeditions of scientists, >>financed by the Royal Academy, went forth to test my theory of
relativity, I was convinced their conclusions would tally with my >>hypothesis. I was not surprised when the eclipse of May 29, 1919
confirmed my intuitions. I would have been surprised if I had been
wrong."
"Then you trust more to your imagination than to your knowledge?"
"I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. >>Imagination encircles the world."
Now here Einstein believes in "I believe with Schopenhauer:..."
Here he sez:
"My own career was undoubtedly determined not by my own will, but by
various factors over which I have no control..."
Meaning, he had no control when he decided to drop TWO bombs on Japan >murdering hundreds of thousands of the Japanese people.
Now, if you people believe Adolph Hitler is responsible for killing
6 million people...he had undoubtedly determined not by his own will,
but by various factors over which he has no control..."
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
Nature LOVES serial killers...
WHY? you need to talk to Nature.
On Sat, 31 Jan 2026 23:38:55 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
On Sat, 20 Dec 2025 23:25:14 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker >>><starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God >>>>Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are >>>>determined by natural causes.
Here are some quotes by Albert Einstein that appear to me was
influenced by Spinoza's God:
If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the
earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly >>>convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the
strength of a resolution taken once and for all. So would a Being, >>>endowed with higher insight and more perfect intelligence, watching
man and his doings, smile about man's illusion that he was acting >>>according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I do not believe in free will. Schopenhauer's words: 'Man can do what
he wants, but he cannot will what he wills,' accompany me in all >>>situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of >>>others, even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the
lack of free will keeps me from taking myself and my fellow men too >>>seriously as acting and deciding individuals, and from losing my
temper.
Albert Einstein
Human beings, in their thinking, feeling and acting are not free
agents but are as causally bound as the stars in their motion.
Albert Einstein
So would a Being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect >>>intelligence, watching man and his doings, smile about man's illusion >>>that he was acting according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I agree with your remark about loving your enemy as far as actions are >>>concerned. But for me the cognitive basis is the trust in an
unrestricted causality. 'I cannot hate him, because he must do what he >>>does.' That means for me more Spinoza than the prophets.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free
will...Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act as if freedom
of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I
must act as if man is a responsible being.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews >>>believe in free will. They believe that man shapes his own life. I
reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew. >>>Albert Einstein
More...I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will.
"In a sense," he added, "we can hold no one responsible. I am a >>determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews believe
in free willuthey believe that man shapes his own life. I reject that >>doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew."
"DonAt you believe that man is a free agent, at least in a limited
sense?"
Einstein smiled ingratiatingly. "I believe with Schopenhauer: *We can
do what we wish, but we can only wish what we must.* Practically, I am >>nevertheless compelled to act as if freedom of the will existed. If I
wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a >>responsible being.
"I know that philosophically a murderer is not responsible for his
crime; nevertheless, I must protect myself from unpleasant contacts. I
may consider him guiltless, but I prefer not to take tea with him."
"Do you mean to say that you did not choose your own career, but that
your actions were predetermined by some power outside yourself?"
**The Danger of Too Much Analysis**
"My own career was undoubtedly determined not by my own will, but by >>various factors over which I have no controluprimarily those
mysterious glands in which Nature prepares the very essence of life:
our internal secretions."
"It may interest you," I interjected, "that Henry Ford once told me
he, too, did not carve out his own life, but that all his actions were >>determined by an inner voice."
"Ford," Einstein replied, "may call it his inner voice. Socrates
referred to it as his *daimon.* We moderns prefer to speak of our
glands or internal secretions. Each explains in his own way the
undeniable fact that the human will is not free."
"DonAt you deliberately ignore all psychic factors in human
development? What, for instance," I asked, "is your attitude toward
the subconscious? According to Freud, psychic events registered
indelibly in our nether mind make and mar our lives."
"Whereas materialistic historians and philosophers neglect psychic >>realities, Freud is inclined to overstress their importance. I am not
a psychologist, but it seems to me fairly evident that physiological >>factorsuespecially our endocrinesucontrol our destiny."
"Then you do not believe in psychoanalysis?"
"I am not," Einstein modestly replied, "able to venture a judgment on
so important a phase of modern thought. However, it seems to me that >>psychoanalysis is not always salutary. It may not always be helpful to >>delve into the subconscious. The machinery of our legs is controlled
by a hundred different muscles. Do you think it would help us to walk
if we analyzed our legs and knew exactly which of the little muscles
must be employed in locomotion and the order in which they work?
"Perhaps," he added with the whimsical smile that sometimes lights up
the somber pools of his eyes like a will-oA-the-wisp, "you remember
the story of the toad and the centipede? The centipede was very proud
of having one hundred legs. His neighbor, the toad, was much depressed >>because he had only four. One day, a diabolic inspiration prompted the
toad to write a letter to the centipede as follows:
*Honored Sir: Can you tell me which one of your hundred legs you move >>first when you transfer your distinguished body from one place to
another, and in what order you move the other ninety-nine legs?*
"When the centipede received this letter, he began to think. He tried >>first one leg, then another. Finally, to his consternation, he
discovered that he was unable to move a single leg. He could no longer
walk at alluhe was paralyzed!
"It is possible," Einstein concluded, "that analysis may paralyze our >>mental and emotional processes in a similar manner."
"Are you then an opponent of Freud?"
"By no means. I am not prepared to accept all his conclusions, but I >>consider his work an immensely valuable contribution to the science of >>human behavior. I think he is even greater as a writer than as a >>psychologist. FreudAs brilliant style is unsurpassed by anyone since >>Schopenhauer."
There was a pause, filled by more fruit salad and strawberry juice.
"Is there," I resumed the conversation, "such a thing as progress in
the story of human effort?"
"The only progress I can see is progress in organization. The
ordinary human being does not live long enough to draw any substantial >>benefit from his own experience. And no one, it seems, can benefit by
the experiences of others. Being both a father and a teacher, I know
we can teach our children nothing. We can transmit to them neither our >>knowledge of life nor of mathematics. Each must learn its lesson
anew."
"But," I interjected, "nature crystallizes our experiences. The >>experiences of one generation are the instincts of the next."
"Ah," Einstein remarked, "that is true. But it takes Nature ten
thousand or ten million years to transmit inherited experiences or >>characteristics. It must have taken the bees and the ants aeons before
they learned to adapt themselves so marvelously to their environments. >>Human beings, alas, seem to learn more slowly than insects."
"Do you think that mankind will eventually evolve the superman?"
"If so," Einstein replied, "it will be a matter of millions of
years."
"You donAt agree with NietzscheAs sister that Mussolini is the
superman prophesied by her brother?"
Again a smile illuminated EinsteinAs features, but it was not as
jovial as before. A pacifist and internationalist, Einstein is the
very antithesis of the dictator. Although he denies the freedom of the
will philosophically, Einstein resents any attempt to circumscribe
still further the limited sphere within which the human will may exert >>itself with the illusion of freedom.
"If we owe so little to the experience of others, how do you account
for sudden leaps forward in the sphere of science? Do you ascribe your
own discoveries to intuition or inspiration?"
**The Meaning of Mankind**
"I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am >>right; I do not *know* that I am. When two expeditions of scientists, >>financed by the Royal Academy, went forth to test my theory of
relativity, I was convinced their conclusions would tally with my >>hypothesis. I was not surprised when the eclipse of May 29, 1919
confirmed my intuitions. I would have been surprised if I had been
wrong."
"Then you trust more to your imagination than to your knowledge?"
"I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. >>Imagination encircles the world."
Now here Einstein believes in "I believe with Schopenhauer:..."
Here he sez:
"My own career was undoubtedly determined not by my own will, but by
various factors over which I have no control..."
Meaning, he had no control when he decided to drop TWO bombs on Japan >murdering hundreds of thousands of the Japanese people.
Now, if you people believe Adolph Hitler is responsible for killing
6 million people...he had undoubtedly determined not by his own will,
but by various factors over which he has no control..."
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are
determined by natural causes.
Nature LOVES serial killers...
WHY? you need to talk to Nature.
On Sat, 31 Jan 2026 23:38:55 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
On Sat, 20 Dec 2025 23:25:14 -0800, The Starmaker
<starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0800, The Starmaker >>><starmaker@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Einstein's God (a cosmic religion) is called Spinoza's God , the God >>>>Einstein believes in.
No Free Will , human free will is an illusion; our choices are >>>>determined by natural causes.
Here are some quotes by Albert Einstein that appear to me was
influenced by Spinoza's God:
If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the
earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly >>>convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the
strength of a resolution taken once and for all. So would a Being, >>>endowed with higher insight and more perfect intelligence, watching
man and his doings, smile about man's illusion that he was acting >>>according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I do not believe in free will. Schopenhauer's words: 'Man can do what
he wants, but he cannot will what he wills,' accompany me in all >>>situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of >>>others, even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the
lack of free will keeps me from taking myself and my fellow men too >>>seriously as acting and deciding individuals, and from losing my
temper.
Albert Einstein
Human beings, in their thinking, feeling and acting are not free
agents but are as causally bound as the stars in their motion.
Albert Einstein
So would a Being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect >>>intelligence, watching man and his doings, smile about man's illusion >>>that he was acting according to his own free will.
Albert Einstein
I agree with your remark about loving your enemy as far as actions are >>>concerned. But for me the cognitive basis is the trust in an
unrestricted causality. 'I cannot hate him, because he must do what he >>>does.' That means for me more Spinoza than the prophets.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free
will...Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act as if freedom
of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I
must act as if man is a responsible being.
Albert Einstein
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews >>>believe in free will. They believe that man shapes his own life. I
reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew. >>>Albert Einstein
More...I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will.
"In a sense," he added, "we can hold no one responsible. I am a >>determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews believe
in free willuthey believe that man shapes his own life. I reject that >>doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew."
"DonAt you believe that man is a free agent, at least in a limited
sense?"
Einstein smiled ingratiatingly. "I believe with Schopenhauer: *We can
do what we wish, but we can only wish what we must.* Practically, I am >>nevertheless compelled to act as if freedom of the will existed. If I
wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a >>responsible being.
"I know that philosophically a murderer is not responsible for his
crime; nevertheless, I must protect myself from unpleasant contacts. I
may consider him guiltless, but I prefer not to take tea with him."
"Do you mean to say that you did not choose your own career, but that
your actions were predetermined by some power outside yourself?"
**The Danger of Too Much Analysis**
"My own career was undoubtedly determined not by my own will, but by >>various factors over which I have no controluprimarily those
mysterious glands in which Nature prepares the very essence of life:
our internal secretions."
"It may interest you," I interjected, "that Henry Ford once told me
he, too, did not carve out his own life, but that all his actions were >>determined by an inner voice."
"Ford," Einstein replied, "may call it his inner voice. Socrates
referred to it as his *daimon.* We moderns prefer to speak of our
glands or internal secretions. Each explains in his own way the
undeniable fact that the human will is not free."
"DonAt you deliberately ignore all psychic factors in human
development? What, for instance," I asked, "is your attitude toward
the subconscious? According to Freud, psychic events registered
indelibly in our nether mind make and mar our lives."
"Whereas materialistic historians and philosophers neglect psychic >>realities, Freud is inclined to overstress their importance. I am not
a psychologist, but it seems to me fairly evident that physiological >>factorsuespecially our endocrinesucontrol our destiny."
"Then you do not believe in psychoanalysis?"
"I am not," Einstein modestly replied, "able to venture a judgment on
so important a phase of modern thought. However, it seems to me that >>psychoanalysis is not always salutary. It may not always be helpful to >>delve into the subconscious. The machinery of our legs is controlled
by a hundred different muscles. Do you think it would help us to walk
if we analyzed our legs and knew exactly which of the little muscles
must be employed in locomotion and the order in which they work?
"Perhaps," he added with the whimsical smile that sometimes lights up
the somber pools of his eyes like a will-oA-the-wisp, "you remember
the story of the toad and the centipede? The centipede was very proud
of having one hundred legs. His neighbor, the toad, was much depressed >>because he had only four. One day, a diabolic inspiration prompted the
toad to write a letter to the centipede as follows:
*Honored Sir: Can you tell me which one of your hundred legs you move >>first when you transfer your distinguished body from one place to
another, and in what order you move the other ninety-nine legs?*
"When the centipede received this letter, he began to think. He tried >>first one leg, then another. Finally, to his consternation, he
discovered that he was unable to move a single leg. He could no longer
walk at alluhe was paralyzed!
"It is possible," Einstein concluded, "that analysis may paralyze our >>mental and emotional processes in a similar manner."
"Are you then an opponent of Freud?"
"By no means. I am not prepared to accept all his conclusions, but I >>consider his work an immensely valuable contribution to the science of >>human behavior. I think he is even greater as a writer than as a >>psychologist. FreudAs brilliant style is unsurpassed by anyone since >>Schopenhauer."
There was a pause, filled by more fruit salad and strawberry juice.
"Is there," I resumed the conversation, "such a thing as progress in
the story of human effort?"
"The only progress I can see is progress in organization. The
ordinary human being does not live long enough to draw any substantial >>benefit from his own experience. And no one, it seems, can benefit by
the experiences of others. Being both a father and a teacher, I know
we can teach our children nothing. We can transmit to them neither our >>knowledge of life nor of mathematics. Each must learn its lesson
anew."
"But," I interjected, "nature crystallizes our experiences. The >>experiences of one generation are the instincts of the next."
"Ah," Einstein remarked, "that is true. But it takes Nature ten
thousand or ten million years to transmit inherited experiences or >>characteristics. It must have taken the bees and the ants aeons before
they learned to adapt themselves so marvelously to their environments. >>Human beings, alas, seem to learn more slowly than insects."
"Do you think that mankind will eventually evolve the superman?"
"If so," Einstein replied, "it will be a matter of millions of
years."
"You donAt agree with NietzscheAs sister that Mussolini is the
superman prophesied by her brother?"
Again a smile illuminated EinsteinAs features, but it was not as
jovial as before. A pacifist and internationalist, Einstein is the
very antithesis of the dictator. Although he denies the freedom of the
will philosophically, Einstein resents any attempt to circumscribe
still further the limited sphere within which the human will may exert >>itself with the illusion of freedom.
"If we owe so little to the experience of others, how do you account
for sudden leaps forward in the sphere of science? Do you ascribe your
own discoveries to intuition or inspiration?"
**The Meaning of Mankind**
"I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am >>right; I do not *know* that I am. When two expeditions of scientists, >>financed by the Royal Academy, went forth to test my theory of
relativity, I was convinced their conclusions would tally with my >>hypothesis. I was not surprised when the eclipse of May 29, 1919
confirmed my intuitions. I would have been surprised if I had been
wrong."
"Then you trust more to your imagination than to your knowledge?"
"I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. >>Imagination encircles the world."
Now here Einstein believes in "I believe with Schopenhauer:..."
Here he sez:
"My own career was undoubtedly determined not by my own will, but by
various factors over which I have no control..."
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