The following are thought-provoking actual quotes from Albert Einstein, as featured in the documentary, followed by further thoughts on them.
[1] Peace Paradox: ‘I am not only a pacifist, but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace.’
Freedom is not always free, but has a price to pay for at times. But what price is reasonable and what price is too high? If peace is to be without fighting, can peace be fought for? If it has to be protected and defended, how should this be best done? Is the ‘best’ defence a ‘good’ offence or no offence?
[2] Creation Paradox: ‘Concern for man himself and his fate must always be the chief objective, in order that the creations of our minds should be a blessing and not a curse to mankind.’
Concern for all kinds of sentient beings should be the overall objective, so that creations are blessings to as many as possible, not for a relatively few only. What if there is a ‘hybrid’ creation meant to bring blessings, but also a curse? Should it be created at all? What if those who wish to use it as a curse are creating it too?
[3] Resistance Paradox: (To Germans then): ‘Mere words do not get pacifists anywhere. They must initiate action. Deeds are needed. Even if only 2% of those supposed to perform military service should declare themselves war resisters and assert, “We are not going to fight,” the governments would be powerless.’
There is reluctance to resist when resisters are assumed to be few, thus making it seemingly so, like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yet resistance begins from a few, who inspire more and more, and this can eventually be enough to resist adequately.
[4] Silence Paradox: ‘The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it. Silence would have made me feel guilty of complicity.’
Silence can mean total consent, but it can also mean reluctance to consent openly, due to fear and other considerations. There is thus a need to ensure what our silence means is heard, just as we ensure our words are understood properly… unless it is truly too perilous to even speak up. If we do not speak up when we can, it can be truly too perilous to speak up later.
[5] Discontent Paradox: ‘Discontent breeds hatred. And hatred leads to acts of violence, revolution, and even war. Thus, we see how distress and evil beget new distress and evil.’
There must be discontentment with seething discontentment, to deal with it, lest it grows. With great empathy powered by loving-kindness, compassion and equanimity, there must be strife to bring about peace, which is also contentment. Otherwise, there will be creeping towards the polar opposite of peace – war.
[6] Organisation Paradox: ‘Organised force can only be opposed by organised force.’
This is true in both physics and human affairs. Just as the will of nature is naturally relentless, the will of good humans must be relentless too, lest the will of the evil becomes more relentless and subdues the will of the good. The more the good are taken for granted, thinking they are organised, the more badly organised they might be, and the more organised they should be. Otherwise, for their nefarious purposes, the evil will tend to be more organised.
[7] Pandora’s Box Paradox: ‘Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, I would not have taken part in opening that Pandora’s box.’
If we lack wisdom, we can only know if our good intentions will bring about good results when we actualise them. There is the saying that the path to hell is paved with good intentions, but so is the path to the heavens and Pure Lands. The only way to know something is a Pandora’s box or a treasure chest is to open it carefully, but only if really needed, after equally careful considerations. As in the case of the A-bomb, it (kind of) led to the end of war, but not to peace for its victims. All wars are already tragic from the beginning.
Related Review:
Some Of ‘Oppenheimer’s Moral Koans?
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2023/09/some-of-oppenheimers-moral-koans
