This is your place to publicly comment on the topics and issues addressed in Speaking of Faith programs. React in a personal way, and put into words what this program meant to you.
Submit Your Reflection about "Einstein's Ethics."
The Unified Theory of Spirituality (April 7, 2007)
Einstein looked at armed conflict as a collapse of reason, which is often considered the hallmark of humanity. I think in times of war there is another collapse, the ruination of consciousness. In humanity there is a consciousness of self, and in enlightened beings, a consciousness of "others." With this expanded consciousness comes a kind of responsibility toward the others' well-being and an awareness of how that well-being is tied to one's own happiness.
Jesus was aware of this responsibility and saw it as transcendent —a way to rise above mortal and worldly concerns and unite, through action, with the being of God. As God and man, Jesus knew the connection of all men and their unity with God intimately and this knowledge is seen in his statement, "As you have done to the least of these so have you also done to me." What he is saying is that human actions simultaneously affect the beings and spirits of others, self, and God. So, the universe is not only united in physics, but in spirituality as well.
Roy Reichle
St. Helena, NE (KUSD, 89.7 FM)
Looking to Einstein's Nationalistic Reticence (March 17, 2007)
Your last quote on Einstein was extremely enlightening. It becomes so transparently evident to see the workings of his lucid mind as a logically radical train of thought that leads him to places of nationalistic taboo. As Americans, I think we must look again at our responsibilities of world interaction as incumbent upon our position.
Jim Holtzman
St. Louis, MO (KWMU, 90.7 FM)
A Couple Mistakes about Einstein (March 17, 2007)
I love your tone and sensibility, and I'm delighted you're picking up on Einstein's ethics and his offense at the failure of reason. Please, though, consider that that exact same fierce belief in truth, not his immaturity as a scientist, might possibly be behind this "God doesn't play dice" assertion. If you're looking for a cause to match his vehemence about it look in the obvious place, in the writings of Niels Bohr and what Bohr thought Einstein was objecting to. Bohr wrote a long polite, emphatic "last-word" on the subject (Bohr 1949). Bohr says that what Einstein objected to in QM was the elimination of causality and continuity, with Bohr saying "Einstein was perhaps more reluctant to renounce such ideals."
The post post-modern idea that Einstein was somehow bothered by uncertainty is, politely, idiotic. He was a founder of statistical physics! What he was objecting to, was not that it would be naturally impossible to predict all manner of things, but the idea that nature was built on a random behavior principle, having events with out causes and consequences without history. Curiously, despite the long popularity of that contentious belief and the idea which it stems from, that things you didn't think you can know about have to be treated as not existing, doesn't seem to have been shown to have any material effect. (Niels Bohr 1949 Discussion with Einstein on epistemological problems in atomic physics at http://minerva.tau.ac.il/physics/bsc/3/3144/bohr.pdf.
Phil Henshaw
New York, NY (WNYC, 93.9 FM)
I'm Led by the Spirit to Serve (April 13, 2006)
I'll be 72 this July. And, looking back, I have often wondered why I chose to do the things I do. It seems something inside me, that I'll call my Spirit leads me in the direction I take. I do not have a mind that would understand most of what Einstein is talking about, but when he talks of a "cosmic religious feeling" I feel he and I belong to the same religion. I do believe one day mankind will fully understand how all that we see in our universe came about. When we do, we will have met our God. I will be visiting your web page often. This is a church I believe I'll enjoy for a life time. My "motto" is: "I'm lead by the Spirit to serve" and I think Einstein served us well and still is serving mankind. Keep the good work up!
Robert Sykes
Fort Worth, TX (Listens to SOF OnDemand)
Diversity of Views in God (December 28, 2005)
The program regarding Albert Einstein was outstanding and illustrates the diversity of views that one has about God. While he did not go to the synagogue every Saturday, one can readily see that Einstein involved God in his illustrious life. Krista, please keep up the outstanding work you do for a program worth waking up for!
Vince Schauf
Midlothian, IL (WBEZ, 91.5 FM)
Jewish Value of Justice (December 25, 2005)
Excellent series on Einstein. The exposure of Judaism's fundamental value of justice for all peoples is an interesting subtext that isn't widely known. The SOF concept and production is outstanding. Keep up the good work!
Doug Harnack
Atlanta, GA (WABE, 90.1 FM)
Women's Rights (December 19, 2005)
Einstein's humanitarianism did not extend to women. I was fortunate to see the Einstein exhibit at the Nobel museum in Stockholm this past summer and it was clear from the information there that he considered his wife to be a second-class citizen — basically a servant. He ordered her life and he ordered her around, in none too polite terms I would say. Too bad the SOF program did not present this side of Einstein. It is hard enough to fight for women's rights without them being overlooked in such an important forum.
Dorothy Renn
Clearwater, MN (KSJR, 91.1 FM)
Albert Einstein's Accent (December 19, 2005)
Thank you very much for the Albert Einstein piece on Speaking of Faith. I heard it yesterday. I'm glad that upon visiting your Web site there are many other references to books and sites for more advanced learning about Einstein. The only question that I have is, on your program, when you had an impersonator speaking as if from Einstein himself, why did the person have a Russian accent and not a German accent? Did Einstein himself actually have more of a Russian or Polish accent. I assumed that being from Germany that he had a German accent. Thank you again very much for the very interesting program.
Andrew Rzepka
Minneapolis, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)
Deep Connections (December 18, 2005)
I was deeply moved by the interview with Dr. Gates. Einstein was my childhood hero, about whom I wrote a report for school. What I best remember from the first adult book I ever read at age nine, Lincoln Barnett's The Universe and Dr. Einstein, was his "gedankens" or thought experiments. The aspect of "gedanken" was also what primarily appealed to me in science fiction from an early age, and I'd long recognized that this power of imagination, including the ability to put oneself in another's shoes, was what had united my interests in science fiction and radical politics. So while I'd known little about Einstein's politics as a child (although I did read he was a socialist), Dr. Gates' insights into the connection between this and his scientific imagination deeply resonated with me.
One little thing I'll take issue with: toward the end Gates mentioned the interest of science in promoting greater openness to participation by people of diverse backgrounds, and described this as having little to do with morality. I think it has everything to do with morality, if one understands the deep connections between these issues. Another book that influenced me while growing up, and which addresses this to some degree, is Gerard Piel's Science in the Cause of Man.
Eric Hamell
Philadelphia, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)
Einstein and Race (December 18, 2005)
I believe that Einstein's attitude on race has the same roots as mine, the events in Europe in 1932–1945. I believe that all of us who escaped the horrors of Nazi Austria and Germany and came to America soon became aware of the dichotomy between the Declaration of Independence and Constitution and the social fabric of America. To be silent after the world was silent and even complicit was not an option. I denounced the Daughters of the American Revolution for not allowing Marian Anderson to sing in Constitution Hall; I was beat up by a son of a DAR. I denounced the segregation in the South and the Armed Forces. I chastised my classmates for the riots in 1943 and sided with the black community in 1967. I was a Democrat but very uncomfortable in that party until 1948 when the Dixiecrats walked out of the party. I continued to speak out for Negroes' equal rights and the rights of all marginalized persons. I still do at age of 77 and will as long as I can.
Titus Mendell
Berkley, MI (WUOM, 91.7 FM)
The Real Question (December 17, 2005)
James Gates today speculated at some length on how Einstein "got there," concerning matters of race. As a scientist, Dr. Gates should have more carefully identified the question; the real question should have been, "Why did it take so many others so much longer to get there?"
Jeffrey Salzberg
Secaucus, NJ (WNYC, 93.9 FM)
Speaking of "Faith"? No; "Values" (December 16, 2005)
I just listened to your program on Einstein. It was absolutely fascinating! This man is my hero, model, or however you want to put it. As a humanistic Jew, Einstein represents what I believe in. I loved your stress on showing him in a "human" perspective, with all his fallibilities, instead of a "saint." My question is: why is this part of your Speaking of Faith series? To me, faith is a belief people have that has nothing to do with "truth," rationality, or science, and I see it as blind acceptance to a series of precepts (dogmas) that you do not question. I think that the name of your program, where Einstein's would fit very well, would be "speaking of values." Unfortunately, for many, values come from faith. Your program showed clearly how values come from a humanistic approach that has nothing to do with faith.
Eugenia Kuttler
San Diego, CA (KPBS, 93.9 FM)
