I was intrigued for two reasons by this quote which John Kulig appended to his recent post:
> Religion without science is blind; science without religion is lame - A. > Einstein The first reason is that claims are sometimes made that Einstein believed in God (e.g. by citing his famous quote "God does not play at dice"), and John's quote appears to confirm this. The second reason is that the Internet is rife with quotes falsely attributed to Einstein (e.g. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/328/7432/153#110192 ). So I wondered about this one. It turns out, to my surprise, to be real (from Science, Philosophy and Religion, A Symposium (1941) http://www.einsteinandreligion.com/scienceandreligion2.html ). But the context is important. Einstein notes that what he means by religion is special. His religion is not the belief in the personal God of organized religion, but the belief that the universe is understandable through the application of reason. Heck, if that's religion, even I could believe in something like that. The full quote is this: "But science can only be created by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration toward truth and understanding. This source of feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion. To this there also belongs the faith in the possibility that the regulations valid for the world of existence are rational, that is, comprehensible to reason. I cannot conceive of a genuine scientist without that profound faith. The situation may be expressed by an image: science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." He then goes on to explicitly distance himself from belief in a personal God who intervenes in human affairs, ending with this comment: "In their struggle for the ethical good, teachers of religion must have the stature to give up the doctrine of a personal God, that is, give up that source of fear and hope which in the past placed such vast power in the hands of priests." Which goes to show that a quotation can only be fully appreciated when considered in context. Stephen -------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sblack at ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=1133 or send a blank email to leave-1133-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
