For many, Einstein’s renown as a scientist has obscured other aspects of his life and thought. The World As I See It is a collection of essays, lectures, and letters Einstein wrote in the 1920s and 30s on topics as diverse as politics, culture, education, and spirituality. These essays shed new light on one of the greatest minds the world has known by showing his deep concern and love for life and humanity.

How remarkable is the human condition! We are travelers of sorts who make our way through our short lives, each of us carrying tremendous potential and opportunity to do great things for the sake of others. We are connected, and our lives impacted by both the living and those who have gone before us.

Remarkable as life is, the hunt for the objective meaning of your existence is a silly quest in some ways. It is more advisable to think of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness as muses that inspire and cheer us along life’s path—they tend to bring more joy than chasing external success, a life of luxury, or even happiness itself. These three, enjoyed in a life of simplicity, is ideal.  

Philosophically speaking, we have no free will. We are driven by external circumstances and internal needs. This lack of control does not free us from ethical constraints, but it does free us from the weight of responsibility that can leave us crushed and paralyzed. The lack of control also helps us keep a sense humor about us and prevents us from taking ourselves too seriously.

Social ties and sympathy in our relationships are important, but there are limits to our ability to understand the experiences of others. To live in relative isolation in pursuit of scientific discoveries often means forgoing a light-hearted outlook on life, but this is the trade-off for greater independence of opinion, habit, and values, as well as a lessened risk of basing one’s significance on the good opinion of others.

As with all of our pursuits in life, religions have developed out of a desire to meet basic needs and alleviate pain. Emotional need is what propels spirituality. Fear, for example, was an essential emotion in early religion, where primitive man attributed natural phenomenon like thunder, wind, and the growth of crops to spirits and deities. Priestly classes would eventually emerge to solidify and institutionalize beliefs. Social-moral needs are also critical in the formation of religion. The idea that there is a God provides a sense of support, care, and love we crave. It was these social-moral needs that catalyzed the transition from fear-based pantheistic religions to social-moral religions. Both strands anthropomorphize God or gods. One is not better than the other, but neither is ideal.

There is a third and highest form of religion, which we can call “cosmic religious feeling.” Very few reach beyond the anthropomorphized religions mentioned earlier. Cosmic religious feeling is marked by a detachment from material hungers and desires. It emphasizes holism. This religion is not confined to any one official religion. One can find instances of this religious ideal in some of the Davidic Psalms and even more clearly in Buddhist philosophy. Exemplars of this cosmic religious sentiment tend to meet resistance from the mainstream religions and are leery of dogma, theology, and formal religious institutions.

The best science has come from this cosmic religious impulse. Art and science inspire this cosmic religious feeling and sustain it. Here, science and religion meet in a peculiar way and enjoy symbiosis. It is a deep belief in the rationality of the universe that gives one the strength to toil in isolation from the real world. Scientists who work toward more immediate personal ends like fame or prestige are unlikely to have the strength to persevere in the face of constant failures. The cosmic religious feeling, exemplified in the dogged pioneering efforts of Kepler and Newton, sustains the will of the far better. In our materialistic age, scientists may well be the only deeply religious people remaining.

One of the most virulent threats to world peace is nationalism. It is sad to see nations, especially influential nations like the United States, stay in isolation. These countries could be a shaping force in international politics, lending their voices to peace. More international thinking and greater involvement from leading nations will better our chances of pushing back against narrow-minded nationalism.

Education is of paramount importance in cultivating global sympathies. We must see humanity as a whole rather than obsess and quibble over national interests. Aggressively nationalistic curriculum will harm the effort toward internationalism. A spirit of cooperation is far more likely to lead to prosperity and peace than a spirit of competition. It is imperative that the next generation grows up with this ethos of compassion. We live in a magnificent time in history, when school children in Japan or China can be connected with children in England and Italy. The world is becoming connected, and if bonds of sympathy can be established, we will take a significant step toward a peaceable future for the world. This is the best counter to the hatred and fear that springs from ignorance.  

Internationalism and quality, open-minded education are needed to bring about worldwide disarmament. Without disarmament, peace will be short-lived because a world armed to the teeth is unstable. The military industry would like to see this instability continue so that arms production can continue growing exponentially. This instability fuels distrust and violence. War is a despicable evil, however lofty a nationalistic regime might depict its causes and rationales for obligating youths to risk their lives. An international court that can make neutral judgments over disputes between nations would be extremely useful. It could help facilitate a universal nuclear disarmament. But this only works if all nations submit to the same corpus of international law.

In America, one is immediately struck by its organization and technical advances in daily life. Americans value efficiency and energy- and labor-saving devices. Because their population is still relatively small for such a large country, labor is more expensive, which has propelled innovation in mechanics. The country’s organization contrasts starkly with that of India and China, where labor forces are so large that labor costs remain low. The incentive for integrating machines into labor processes is not strong. Europe is at a mid-way point between the United States and large Asian nations, where machines have become part of the production process up to a point, but not to the degree seen in the United States.

In America, one is struck by the friendliness and optimism of her people. Europeans usually enjoy conversation with Americans because, on the whole, Americans tend to be kinder, more openhearted, community-oriented, less particular and not as pessimistic as Europeans.

America is more of a “we” culture than a “me” culture, psychologically speaking. There is a trust in private ownership to make socially beneficial decisions. Many institutions, including education, are in private hands. Even the wealthy feel a sense of responsibility to society, giving generously in philanthropic causes and reinvesting their capital in industry for the benefit of society. Scientific research also greatly benefits from this generosity, but generous endowments are not the sole reason why science flourishes in the United States. There is passion for discovery and a spirit of cooperation and camaraderie that contribute to exciting scientific work.