Society and the World

I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure characters is the only thing that can produce fine ideas and noble deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and always tempts its owners irresistibly to abuse it.

I was originally supposed to become an engineer, but the thought of having to expend my creative energy on things that make practical everyday life even more refined, with a loathsome capital gain as the goal, was unbearable to me.

The ordinary object of human endeavor—property, outward success, luxury—have always seemed to me contemptible.

She knows her way around the family of radioactive substances better than I know the way around my own family.

My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced freedom from the need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities.

Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn a living at it. One should earn one’s living by work of which one is sure one is capable. Only when we do not have to be accountable to anyone can we find joy in scientific endeavor.

Science will stagnate if it is made to serve practical goals.

Science will stagnate if it is made to serve practical goals.

The belief in an external world independent of the perceiving subject is the basis of all natural science. Since, however, sense perception only gives information of this external world or of “physical reality” indirectly, we can only grasp the latter by speculative means. It follows from this that our notions of physical reality can never be final.

After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are artists as well.

A theorist goes astray in two ways: 1) The devil leads him by the nose with a false hypothesis. (For this he deserves our pity.) 2) His arguments are erroneous and sloppy. (For this he deserves a beating.)

The truth of a theory can never be proven, for one never knows if future experience will contradict its conclusions.

Teaching should be such that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not as a hard duty.

I am opposed to examinations—they only deter from the interest in studying. No more than two exams should be given throughout a student’s [college] career. I would hold seminars, and if the young people are interested and listen, I would give them a diploma.

The crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship material success as a preparation for his future career.

The crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship material success as a preparation for his future career.

I do not like to state an opinion on a matter unless I know the precise facts.

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.

Regarding sex education: no secrets!

It is not so very important for a person to learn facts. For that he does not really need college. He can learn them from books. The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts, but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

Failure and deprivation are the best educators and purifiers.

Don’t worry about your marks. Just make sure that you keep up with the work and that you don’t have to repeat a year. It is not necessary to have good marks in everything.

You should try to remember that a dedicated teacher is a valuable messenger from the past, and can be an escort to your future.