A Faithfull Reason from Reasonable Faith: Einstein’s Concept of God in Deism and Panteism Context

Year 2020, Volume: 2020 Issue: 41, 723 - 761, 15.05.2020

Hakan Hemşinli , Zehra Oruk

https://doi.org/10.28949/bilimname.697552

Abstract

Although Albert Einstein is more known for being a physicist, he has also expressed his thoughts on many other areas in the social and human events of his time. His approach to social events, his assessment of religious phenomena, his analysis of the differences of opinion in ideology, represent his versatile personality. At the beginning of his science career, some metaphysical postulates which are based on his studies show how his thoughts on physics and beyond are subject to each other. Einstein thinks that there is a superior intellect that manifests in the universe which has been a source of motivation for many years in the study of scientists such as Newton and Kepler. He asserts that he had a similar divine inspiration in his scientific studies. Indeed, Einstein often speaks of a divine being and some mysterious situations in his speeches and writings. With emphasizing his piety, he implies that actual piety is “knowing God”. With the influence of the Jewish tradition in which he was born in, he first encountered understanding of God which is offered by Judaism, a theistic religion. This current state has serious impacts on his approach to God and science. His approach to the universe and social phenomena is shaped by the effect of this tradition and upbringing, which he benefits from, so a kind of God image has begun to appear in his mind. His approach to the universe and social phenomena is shaped by the effect of this tradition. So, a kind of God concept has begun to appear in his mind. The concept in his mind has become more evident with the influence of his scientific studies and his innovative ideas about the universe, finally, because of this he has digressed from the Jewish God concept in which he had been connected then evolved in a different direction. Einstein frequently referred to Maimonides and Spinoza who were accused of infidelity. during their lifetime and were alleged to have an unusual sense of spirituality. The impacts of those philosophers are quite great about his conception. Einstein does not explicitly state that his conceptions of God is placed under theism, deism, pantheism, panentheism, atheism, or agnosticism. Rather, he states that he is not close to any of these thoughts. The relationship which he established between God and the universe becomes an issue that puts him in paradoxes and causes difficult problems to overcome. As a matter of fact, Einstein introduces a theory within the framework of the only system underlying his approach to the universe and his understanding of the perfect order. This theory that is named as Unified Field Theory allows the universe to function like a mechanism. In the formation of this theory, Einstein has benefited from the monotheistic God in the Judaistic tradition. However, it is not possible for the God which envisioned by Einstein. to intervene directly in the universe Nevertheless, it would not be correct to interpret that Einstein did not have any divine beliefs. He has talked about the existence of a remarkable aesthetic harmony in the perfect order (universe) and a latent state that he feels exists behind the functioning reasonable system, given signals that he is not far from metaphysics. For all that, he does not attempt to explain the ambiguity of the origin of the universe based on the creationism of God. He states that the universe is not fully understood yet, and if it was created by God, then His purpose would be to make it incomprehensible. Interestingly, Einstein had a divine belief in the cosmological order behind his expressions of "God does not dice with the universe", which he said against the quantum mechanics that emerged during his lifetime, acting from the presumption that the movements of beings were random. However, when the content of his belief is examined, it is understood that Einstein follows a path different from Judaism as he frequently stated in his own statements. For Einstein, Judaism is not more than just a cultural state and sometimes a political phenomenon. According to him, the belief in the personal God eliminates the deprivation from an experimental perspective by meeting the metaphysical needs of people. With the influence of Newton's Principle of Causality, to which he adheres firmly, it comes to mind whether he accept the view of a deistic God, who does not need rituals such as prayer, worship, and does not intervene with the universe that is a common approach among scientists of his time. In addition to this, Einstein described his god as the god of Spinoza, who he frequently referred to in his own statements and regarded him as his teacher. Should Einstein's thought be considered with a similar approach, based on Spinoza's view of God, who was also accused of this belief in his time and interpreted as a pantheist and panentheist today? This would be to accept that Einstein saw the universe as identical with God. However, in his statements, Einstein speaks of a mystery that he believes exists in the essence and beyond of the universe and that he enjoys experiencing it. His similar statements detract him from being interpreted within the framework of atheism or agnosticism, although he has declared that he is an agnostic towards God, he probably meant the nature of God's existence. For this reason, it would be more accurate to explain Einstein's understanding of God in a different manner, rather than reducing it to a single concept. In this study, firstly, it will be emphasized, although Einstein has a Jewish identity in a cultural sense, he does not accept the concept of personal God as described in theistic religions. Subsequently it will be evaluated whether he accepts a deistic God in terms of his physicist aspect. Then, Spinoza's influence on Einstein will be examined through relationship which established by Einstein between nature and God. In addition, it will be traced that how the rational belief which started with Maimonides transformed into a faithful mind in Einstein's thoughts through Spinoza.

Akılcı İnançtan İnançlı Akla: Deizm ve Panteizm Kıskacında Einstein’ın Tanrı Anlayışı

Abstract

Albert Einstein, bir fizikçi olarak meşhur olmasına rağmen, düşüncelerinin ve yazdıklarının zenginliği ile birçok alanda etkisini göstermiş çok yönlü bir bilim adamıdır. Einstein’ın Tanrı ile evren arasında kurduğu ilişki, kendisini paradokslara düşüren ve içinden çıkılması güç sorunlara kapı aralayan bir mesele olmuştur. Acaba Einstein Tanrı ile evreni aynı mı görmektedir? Eğer böyleyse, Einstein panteist Tanrı tasavvuruna sahip biri olarak okunabilir mi? Evrendeki determinizmin kesinliğine inanan biri olarak, dinleri, dua ve ibadetleri, kişisel bir Tanrı inancını reddedip Tanrı’nın evrene müdahale edemeyeceğini söylediğinde deist olarak mı yorumlanması gerekir? Dahası buna onun ateist ve agnostik olduğu yönündeki iddialar da eklendiğinde, birbirlerinden çok farklı hatta zıt Tanrı tasavvurlarının hangisiyle ilişkilendirileceği ciddi bir sorun olmaktadır. Einstein’ın düşüncelerinin geçirdiği evrim dikkate alındığında, bunlara hem uygun hem de aykırı düşen ifadelerinin olduğu söylenebilir. Bu nedenle Einstein’ın Tanrı anlayışını tek bir tasavvura hapsetmek yerine, farklı bir tarzda açıklamak daha isabetli olacaktır. Bu çalışmada ilk olarak, Einstein’ın kültürel anlamda Yahudi kimliğine sahip olmasına rağmen, teistik dinlerin kişisel Tanrı tasavvurunu niçin benimsemediği ve deizmin Tanrı anlayışını kabul edip etmediği üzerinde durulacaktır. Daha sonra, Einstein’ın doğa ve Tanrı arasında kurduğu ilişki üzerinden Spinoza’nın Einstein üzerindeki etkisi ve panteizme dair düşünceleri irdelenmeye çalışılacaktır. Ayrıca İbn Meymûn ile başlayan akılcı inancın, Spinoza aracılığıyla Einstein’ın düşüncelerinde inançlı akla nasıl dönüştüğünün izleri sürülecektir.

Keywords

Din Felsefesi, Tanrı, Einstein, Spinoza, İbn Meymûn, Deizm, Panteizm

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