Einstein's Faith
From "Subtle is the Lord-- " : the science and the
life of Albert Einstein by Abraham Pais, Oxford University
Press, Oxford & New York, 1982.
'Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.'
So Einstein once wrote to explain his personal creed: 'A religious person
is devout in the sense that he has no doubt of the significance of those
super-personal objects and goals which neither require nor are capable of
rational foundation.'
His was not a life of prayer and worship. Yet he lived by a deep
faith--a faith not capable of rational foundation--that there are laws of
Nature to be discovered. His lifelong pursuit was to discover them. His
realism and his optimism are illuminated by his remark: 'Subtle is the
Lord, but malicious He is not' ('Raffiniert ist der Herrgott aber
boshaft ist er nicht.'.'). When asked by a colleague what he meant by
that, he replied: 'Nature hides her secret because of her essential
loftiness, but not by means of ruse' ('Die Natur verbirgt ihr Geheimnis
durch die Erhabenheit ihres Wesens, aber nicht durch List.').
Editorial comments in this section on Einstein are by
Prof. Arnold V. Lesikar, Physics Dept., St. Cloud State University, St.
Cloud, MN 56301-4498. He would appreciate any feedback or comments.
lesikar@stcloudstate.edu
