Einstein's Imagination.

March 11, 2005 7:12 AM

Idealist and realist: What we can learn from Albert Einstein's free spirit. "Einstein was a Freigeist, and his self-appointed, conscious task was to be a liberator –- a Befreier. In this he continued a great German cultural tradition established by Kant, Goethe, and simultaneously with Einstein, by Ernst Cassirer." [via]
posted by monju_bosatsu (4 comments total)

This is fantastic and I'm loving it. Thanks, monju.
posted by Shane at 7:55 AM on March 11, 2005

Epistemology, historical consciousness, the ability to contextualize – in short the very process of reflection – is an exercise in humanistic thinking. A typical humanistic remark of Einstein: "The school should always have as its aim that the young person leaves it as a harmonious personality, not as a specialist'.
posted by foot at 8:21 AM on March 11, 2005

A very good article. "he showed that creative thinking could proceed liberated from any support, be it experimental or even mathematical: it was a pure conceptual flight of the imagination." <- This captures in a nutshell why he has always been one of my heroes. (Also this link in the article leads to hours of Einsteinian fun/investigation)
posted by spock at 8:48 AM on March 11, 2005

this is good. thank you.
posted by .kobayashi. at 2:35 PM on March 11, 2005