IN Princeton, early in December 1950, Einstein received a long handwritten letter from a nineteen-year-old student at Rutgers University who said “My problem is this, sir, ‘What is the purpose of man on earth?’ ” Dismissing such possible answers as to make money, to achieve fame, and to help others, the student said “Frankly, sir, I don’t even know why I’m going to college and studying engineering.” He felt that man is here “for no purpose at all” and went on to quote from Blaise Pascal’s Pensées the following words, which he said aptly summed up his own feelings: “I know not who put me into the world, nor what the world is, nor what I myself am. I am in terrible ignorance of everything. I know not what my body is, nor my senses, nor my soul, not even that part of me which thinks what I say, which reflects on all and on itself, and knows itself no more than the rest. I see those frightful spaces of the universe which surround me, and I find myself tied to one corner of this vast expanse, without knowing why I am put in this place rather than another, nor why this short time which is given me to live is assigned to me at this point rather than at another of the whole eternity which was before me or which shall come after me. I see nothing but infinities on all sides, which surround me as an atom, and as a shadow which endures only for an instant and returns no more. All I know is that I must die, but what I know least is this very death which I cannot escape.”
The student remarked that Pascal saw the answers to be in religion but that he himself did not. After elaborating on the cosmic insignificance of man, he nevertheless asked Einstein to tell him where the right course lay, and why, saying “Pull no punches. If you think I’ve gone off the track let me have it straight.”
In responding to this poignant cry for help, Einstein offered no easy solace, and this very fact must have heartened the student and lightened the lonely burden of his doubts. Here is Einstein’s response. It was written in English and sent from Princeton on 3 December 1950, within days of receiving the letter:
I was impressed by the earnestness of your struggle to find a purpose for the life of the individual and of mankind as a whole. In my opinion there can be no reasonable answer if the question is put this way. If we speak of the purpose and goal of an action we mean simply the question: which kind of desire should we fulfill by the action or its consequences or which undesired consequences should be prevented? We can, of course, also speak in a clear way of the goal of an action from the standpoint of a community to which the individual belongs. In such cases the goal of the action has also to do at least indirectly with fulfillment of desires of the individuals which constitute a society.
If you ask for the purpose or goal of society as a whole or of an individual taken as a whole the question loses its meaning. This is, of course, even more so if you ask the purpose or meaning of nature in general. For in those cases it seems quite arbitrary if not unreasonable to assume somebody whose desires are connected with the happenings.
Nevertheless we all feel that it is indeed very reasonable and important to ask ourselves how we should try to conduct our lives. The answer is, in my opinion: satisfaction of the desires and needs of all, as far as this can be achieved, and achievement of harmony and beauty in the human relationships. This presupposes a good deal of conscious thought and of self-education. It is undeniable that the enlightened Greeks and the old Oriental sages had achieved a higher level in this all-important field than what is alive in our schools and universities.
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On 28 October 1951 a graduate student in psychology sent a beautifully worded letter to Einstein in Princeton asking for advice. The student was an only child and, like his parents, Jewish though not orthodox. A year and a half before, he had fallen deeply in love with a girl of the Baptist faith. Knowing the pitfalls in a mixed marriage, and the unintended wounds that could be inflicted by the thoughtless remarks of others, the couple had mixed socially with friends and acquaintances and found that their love was able to withstand the stresses. The girl, unprompted, had expressed a willingness to convert to Judaism so that their children would have a more homogeneous family life. While the young man’s parents liked the girl, they were frightened of intermarriage and gave voice to their objections. The young man was torn between his love for the girl and his desire not to alienate his parents and cause them lasting pain. He asked whether he was not right in believing that a wife takes precedence over parents when one ventures upon a new mode of life.
Einstein drafted a reply in German on the back of the letter. The reply may very well have been sent in English, but only the German draft is in the Einstein Archives. Here is a translation of it:
I have to tell you frankly that I do not approve of parents exerting influence on decisions of their children that will determine the shapes of the children’s lives. Such problems one must solve for oneself.
However, if you want to make a decision with which your parents are not in accord, you must ask yourself this question: Am I, deep down, independent enough to be able to act against the wishes of my parents without losing my inner equilibrium? If you do not feel certain about this, the step you plan is also not to be recommended in the interests of the girl. On this alone should your decision depend.
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On 8 December 1952 a twenty-year-old student majoring in philosophy at Brown University sent Einstein, in Princeton, a long, enthusiastic handwritten letter telling eloquently that he had been a profound admirer of Einstein since as far back as he could remember, and that all matters concerning Einstein—his theories, his views, his personality—had long had an overwhelming fascination for him. He wondered if Einstein could possibly find time to write him a brief note. Since Einstein did not know him, the student realized that it could not contain a personal message, but he hoped it would contain a message or statement of some sort nevertheless.
On 9 December 1952 Einstein replied in English as follows:
It is the most beautiful reward for one who has striven his whole life to grasp some little bit of truth if he sees that other men have real understanding of and pleasure with his work. I thank you therefore very much for your kind words. Having little time to spare I must be content to write you only a short remark.
It is true that the grasping of truth is not possible without empirical basis. However, the deeper we penetrate and the more extensive and embracing our theories become the less empirical knowledge is needed to determine those theories.
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On 4 October 1931 Einstein gave a lecture at the Berlin Planetarium. A correspondent, unable to attend, read about the lecture in the newspaper the next day and sent him the clipping. Here is its account of what Einstein said:
For the creation of a theory the mere collection of recorded phenomena never suffices—there must always be added a free invention of the human mind that attacks the heart of the matter. And: the physicist must not be content with the purely phenomenological considerations that pertain to the phenomena. Instead, he should press on to the speculative method, which looks for the underlying pattern.
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The Einsteins had a summer home in Caputh, near Berlin, which they greatly enjoyed. It was later to be confiscated by the Nazis, and even in 1932 the future looked dark. The daughter of a neighbor in Caputh had an album to which she asked Einstein to contribute. He did so in 1932 with these words:
O Youth: Do you know that yours is not the first generation to yearn for a life full of beauty and freedom? Do you know that all your ancestors felt as you do—and fell victim to trouble and hatred?
Do you know, also, that your fervent wishes can only find fulfillment if you succeed in attaining love and understanding of men, and animals, and plants, and stars, so that every joy becomes your joy and every pain your pain? Open your eyes, your heart, your hands, and avoid the poison your forebears so greedily sucked in from History. Then will all the earth be your fatherland, and all your work and effort spread forth blessings.
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A fifth grade teacher in Ohio found that most of his students were shocked to learn that human beings are classed as belonging to the animal kingdom. He persuaded them to compose letters asking the opinions of great minds and, on 26 November 1952, he sent a selection to Einstein in Princeton hoping that Einstein would find time to reply. This Einstein did, in English, on 17 January 1953, as follows:
Dear Children,
We should not ask “What is an animal” but “What sort of a thing do we call an animal?” Well, we call something an animal which has certain characteristics: it takes nourishment, it descends from parents similar to itself, it grows, it moves by itself, it dies if its time has run out. That’s why we call the worm, the chicken, the dog, the monkey an animal. What about us humans? Think about it in the above-mentioned way and then decide for yourselves whether it is a natural thing to regard ourselves as animals.
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On 25 February 1952, representatives of the “Sixth Form Society” of a grammar school in England wrote to Einstein telling enthusiastically that he had been elected almost unanimously to the Rectorship of their group. Admittedly, the office involved no duties, and, indeed, according to the bylaws the group was not allowed to have a Rector anyway. But they felt that Einstein would appreciate the gesture as an indication of their recognition of the greatness of his work.
On 17 March 1952 Einstein replied in English as follows:
As an old schoolmaster I received with great joy and pride the nomination to the Office of Rectorship of your society. Despite my being an old gypsy there is a tendency to respectability inherent in old age—so with me. I have to tell you, though, that I am a little (but not too much) bewildered by the fact that this nomination was made independent of my consent.
Einstein’s letter was framed and placed in the school Library, where the “Sixth Form Society” used to meet. It is probably there still.
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A child in the sixth grade in a Sunday School in New York City, with the encouragement of her teacher, wrote to Einstein in Princeton on 19 January 1936 asking him whether scientists pray, and if so what they pray for. Einstein replied as follows on 24 January 1936:
I have tried to respond to your question as simply as I could. Here is my answer.
Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the actions of people. For this reason, a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by a prayer, i.e. by a wish addressed to a supernatural Being.
However, it must be admitted that our actual knowledge of these laws is only imperfect and fragmentary, so that, actually, the belief in the existence of basic all-embracing laws in Nature also rests on a sort of faith. All the same this faith has been largely justified so far by the success of scientific research.
But, on the other hand, every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.
It is worth mentioning that this letter was written a decade after the advent of Heisenberg’s principle of indeterminacy and the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics with its denial of strict determinism.
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The following letter, sent by Einstein from Princeton on 20 December 1935, is self-explanatory. This is fortunate because there seems to be no record of the circumstances that gave rise to it. The letter may well have been the result of an oral request:
Dear Children,
It gives me great pleasure to picture you children joined together in joyful festivities in the radiance of Christmas lights. Think also of the teachings of him whose birth you celebrate by these festivities. Those teachings are so simple—and yet in almost 2000 years they have failed to prevail among men. Learn to be happy through the happiness and joy of your fellows, and not through the dreary conflict of man against man! If you can find room within yourselves for this natural feeling, your every burden in life will be light, or at least bearable, and you will find your way in patience and without fear, and will spread joy everywhere.
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In answer to an oral question from a child, transmitted by her mother, Einstein wrote the following in English on 19 June 1951:
There has been an earth for a little more than a billion years. As for the question of the end of it I advise: Wait and see!
He added a postscript saying:
I enclose a few stamps for your collection.
