Einstein is one of the greatest physicists in modern times and is recognized as the greatest physicist since Galileo and Newton. The following is Einstein's "My World View" that I bring to you. You are welcome to read it!
Einstein: "My World View"
What an extraordinary situation is that of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he feels it. But from the point of view of daily life, without going deeper, we exist for our fellowmen?in the first place for those on whose smiles and welfare all our happiness depends, and next for all those unknown to us personally with whose destiny we are bound up by the tie of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. I am strongly drawn to the simple life and am often oppressed by the feeling that I am engrossing an unnecessary amount of the labor of my fellowmen. I regard class differences as contrary to justice and, in the last resort, based on. force. I also consider that plain living is good for everybody, physically and mentally.
People will die eventually, and the situation we face is so unusual! Everyone comes to this world for a short stay; as for the reason for coming, no one knows. Although I occasionally thought I had some insights into this, I did not explore it in depth. In terms of daily life, do we live for our fellow men? The most important ones are those whose smiles and happiness determine all our happiness; then there are the people we have never met, who rely on the ties of sympathy to connect with us. Our destinies are closely linked. I tell myself countless times every day that the work of others, including those living and deceased, supports my entire spiritual and material life. Therefore, I must devote myself wholeheartedly to reach the same height as them in return for the favor I have received and am still receiving.
I yearn for a simple life very much, and I often feel guilty because I feel that I have shared too much of the fruits of labor of my compatriots. I saw class differences as incompatible with justice and ultimately forced to resort to coercive measures. I also believe that anyone can benefit greatly from living a simple life, whether physically or mentally.
In human freedom in the philosophical sense I am definitely a disbeliever. Everybody acts not only under external compulsion but also in accordance with inner necessity. Schopenhauer's saying, that "a man can do as he will, but not will as he will,?has been an inspiration to me since my youth up, and a continual consolation and unfailing well-spring of patience in the face of the hardships of life, my own and others'. This feeling mercifully mitigates the sense of responsibility which so easily becomes paralyzing, and it prevents us from taking ourselves and other people too seriously; it conduces to a view of life in which humor, above all, has its due place.
I don't believe it at all Human freedom in the philosophical sense. Each person's behavior must not only be limited by external force, but also conform to internal necessity. Schopenhauer once said, "Although people can do whatever they want, they cannot do as they please." , I am always inspired by this famous saying. When I or others experience various hardships in life, I can always find comfort from this sentence and gain a source of patience that never runs dry. Generosity alleviates the sense of responsibility that makes it easy to feel inadequate and prevents us from taking ourselves and others too seriously; it also helps people gain a view of life that first gives humor its due place. .
To inquire after the meaning or object of one?s own existence or of creation generally has always seemed to me absurd from an objective point of view. And yet everybody has certain ideals which determine the direction of his endeavors and his judgments. In this sense I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves-such an ethical basis I call more proper for a herd of swine. The ideals which have lighted me on my way and time after time given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Without the sense of fellowship with men of like mind, of preoccupation with the objective, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific research, life would have seemed to me empty.The ordinary objects of human endeavor-property, outward success, luxury-have always seemed to me contemptible.
From an objective point of view, if you want to explore the meaning or purpose of your own existence and even creation in general, I always feel that it is unreasonable. However, everyone's ideals are different, and their efforts and judgment directions are also different. In this sense, I will never regard comfort and enjoyment as the purpose of life itself? I think this ethical basis is more suitable for a group of pigs. Truth, goodness, and beauty light up my path and constantly give me new courage, so that I can face the ideals of life happily. My life would be empty without the friendships of like-minded people, without immersing myself in the objective world and pursuing unattainable goals in the fields of art and science. The common objects of human desire? Wealth, superficial success, luxury? All seem despicable to me.
My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced freedom from the need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I gang my own gait and have never belonged to my country , my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties I have never lost an obstinate sense of detachment, of the need for solitude? a feeling which increases with the years. One is sharply conscious, yet without regret, of the limits to the possibility of mutual understanding and sympathy with one's fellow-creatures. Such a person no doubt loses something in the way of geniality and light-heartedness; on the other hand, he is largely independent of the opinions, habits, and judgments of his fellows and avoids the temptation to take his stand on such insecure foundations.
I am passionate about social justice and social responsibility. In sharp contrast, , and I obviously lack the desire to have direct contact with others and society. I have always done things my own way; I have never loved my country, my family, my friends, or even my closest relatives with all my heart; I have maintained a stubborn detachment in the face of all these ties. And the need to escape from the world? This feeling continues to strengthen with age. People really feel that there are limits to people's mutual understanding and sympathy, although this is nothing to regret. There is no doubt that such a person loses something by kindness and sympathy; yet on the other hand he can largely avoid the influence of the opinions, habits, and judgments of others, and can resist the temptation to rely on these unreliable base its position on.
My political ideal is that of democracy. Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized. It is an irony of fate that I myself have been the recipient of excessive admiration and respect from my fellows through no fault, and no merit, of my own. The cause of this may well be the desire, unattainable for many, to understand the one or two ideas to which I have with my feeble powers attained through ceaseless struggle. I am quite aware that it is necessary for the success of any complex undertaking that one man should do the thinking and directing and in general bear the responsibility. But the led must not be compelled, they must be able to choose their leader... The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the State but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling.
My political ideal is to realize a democratic system. Respect everyone as an individual and abandon idolatry. It is truly a trick of fate that through no fault of my own, and through no fault of my own merit, people tend to admire and respect me too much. Understanding one or two of the theories that I have worked tirelessly to uncover may be the reason why so many people desire it but are unable to achieve it. I understand very well that for any complex undertaking to be successful, it requires someone who can assume the important tasks of thinking, directing, and taking full responsibility. But we must not force the led. They must be able to choose their own leaders? In my opinion, in the wonderful performance of life, the real value is not the country, but the creative and perceptive individual, the personality. ; Man is the only creature that can create nobility and excellence, while the rest of humanity is always stagnant in thought and feeling.
This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of the herd nature, the military system, which I abhor. That a man can take pleasure in marching in formation to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him. He has only been given his big brain by mistake; a backbone was all he needed. This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism by order, senseless violence, and all the pestilent nonsense that does by the name of patriotism?how I hate them! War seems to me a mean,contemptible thing:I would rather be hacked in pieces than take part in such an abominable business. And yet so high,in spite of everything, is my opinion of the human race that I believe this bogey would have disappeared long ago, had the sound sense of the nations not been systematically corrupted by commercial and political interests acting through the schools and the Press.
This topic reminds me One of the worst manifestations of popular nature is the military system, which I hate with all my heart. A man marches in a queue to the tune of a military band, and he can be happy about it. This act was enough to make me despise him. It would be a big mistake for him to have a brain; for him a spine is enough. In a civilized society, we should get rid of this evil scourge as soon as possible. Heroism under orders, cruel atrocities that dehumanize, and all abominable nonsense in the name of patriotism? I hate these things! In my opinion, war is a despicable and shameless act. I would rather be broken into pieces than I want to participate in this disgusting war. Even so, I will still give a high evaluation to human beings. I believe that if commercial interests and political interests did not corrode the normal reason of all nations through the school and media system, then the monster of war would have ceased to exist a long time ago. .
The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of tree art and free science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. It was the experience of mystery-even if mixed with fear-that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms? it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man. I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the type of which we are conscious in ourselves. An individual who should survive his physical death is also beyond my comprehension, nor do I wish it otherwise; such notions are for the fears or absurd egoism of feeble souls. Enough for me the mystery of the eternity of life, and the inkling of the marvelous structure of reality, together with the single-hearted endeavor to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the reason that manifests itself in nature.