Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Tag: Einstein

  • Lessons from Einstein for Scientists Today

    Lessons from Einstein for Scientists Today

    Albert Einstein is widely recognized as the greatest scientist of his time.  In 2005, physics societies throughout the world celebrated the 100th anniversary year of Einstein’s “miracle year,” in which he produced five papers that would change humanity’s view of the universe.  The year 2005 also marked the 50th anniversary of Einstein’s death and of the issuing of his last public appeal, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto.  It is an appropriate time to consider what lessons we might draw from Einstein’s life that would benefit those engaged in scientific activities today.

    Lesson 1: Think for Yourself

    Einstein was a scientist who challenged prevailing assumptions, both in science and in society.  He was an innovative thinker, a man who thought for himself.  He never just went along with prevailing attitudes or structures.  He asked startlingly fresh questions, reached his own conclusions, and stood by them no matter what orthodoxies or power structures they challenged.

    Lesson 2: Reflect upon the Social Implications of Science and Technology

    Einstein was extremely thoughtful about the implications of science and technology.  He understood the potential power of science and technology for both constructive and destructive purposes.  Fearing destructive uses of atomic power by Germany, he signed a letter to President Roosevelt in 1939, warning the US of the potential for a German atomic bomb and encouraging the US to undertake research on such a bomb in order to deter a German bomb.

    Later, when the US used its own atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, after the Germans had already been defeated, Einstein called his letter to Roosevelt the greatest mistake of his life.  For the remaining years of his life, Einstein worked with other scientists to end the nuclear weapons threat to humanity, and was an outspoken advocate of this cause.

    Lesson 3: Engage with Society

    Einstein spoke out regularly on issues of social importance.  He opposed militarism and war, and warned society of the new dangers of the Nuclear Age.  “The splitting of the atom,” he said, “has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.”  Einstein was never reluctant to lend his name or express his thoughts in support of issues he considered to be of social importance.

    Lesson 4: Be Responsive to Civil Society

    Einstein not only spoke out on issues he considered to have social relevance.  He was also responsive to those who asked for his opinions on key social issues, such as war and peace, weaponry and world government.  He took time to respond to individuals from all walks of life, including youth.  He also engaged in important public intellectual exchanges with other leading figures of his time, including psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and poet Rabindranath Tagore.

    Lesson 5: Be a World Citizen

    Einstein viewed himself as a citizen of the world, and believed that world government, at least as it pertained to security, was necessary to control war and nuclear weaponry.  Einstein identified with humanity as a whole more than with any one country, and he was critical of any country, including his own by birth or choice, that promoted militarism.

    Lesson 6: Challenge Authority

    Einstein was not a servant of authority.  He was willing to stand toe to toe with power.  When Einstein had a highly respected professorship in Germany in his early career, and nearly all the scientific community signed onto a statement supportive of German militarism, Einstein was one of only a handful of vocal opponents to this statement who signed a counter-statement.  He was unwilling to give his name in support of what he did not agree with.  He was his own person, and quite willing to stand up to and challenge authority.

    Lesson 7: Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide

    Einstein believed in letting one’s conscience be his guide, and lived this way throughout his life.  He was a strong supporter of conscientious objection to war.  He stated, “I believe that a refusal on conscientious grounds to serve in the army when called up, if carried out by 50,000 men at the same moment, would be irresistible.”

    Lesson 8: Remember Your Humanity

    The Russell-Einstein Manifesto, which was the final public appeal that Einstein signed before his death, may be thought of as his final testament.  In this appeal, the signors posed two starkly different potential futures: one characterized as a paradise on earth and the other characterized by universal death.  The key to a positive future, as expressed in the Manifesto, was to “Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.”  Einstein himself never lost touch with his own humanity.  He always stood at the cutting edge of the arc of justice and, with the exception of advocating the defeat of the Nazi regime in World War II, was an unwavering pacifist and proponent of peace.

    Conclusion

    Were Einstein able to view the world of today, more than fifty years following his death, I think he would be deeply disappointed by the manner in which most of the world’s scientists have failed to take responsibility for the consequences of their work.  Einstein’s example for scientists was first and foremost to be compassionate human beings who care about the world around them and other human beings, regardless of their nationality or ethnicity.  He did not view science and technology as neutral.  He wanted its destructive purposes to be controlled, and he called for a world government capable of preventing war and eliminating weapons of mass destruction.

    I believe that Einstein would have been proud of the scientists who have followed in his footsteps.  Certainly he would have been extremely pleased by Joseph Rotblat, the youngest signer of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, who went on to organize and lead the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.  He would have applauded Professor Rotblat and Pugwash receiving the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to cross the Cold War divide and reduce the nuclear threat to humanity.

    I’m sure Einstein would also have been proud of the scientists and engineers who created and have participated in the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (INES) for the bold steps they have taken to promote nuclear disarmament, prevent nuclear proliferation, pursue sustainable development, and support scientific whistle-blowing and higher ethical standards for scientists and engineers.

    Einstein was a most remarkable human being, a man who changed our view of the universe, and who also demonstrated a great moral imagination and a high level of commitment to a more just and peaceful world.  Scientists today would do well to learn from Einstein’s life the lessons that made him both a responsible scientist and a great human being.  While it is highly unlikely that scientists today will reach Einstein’s pinnacle of brilliant achievement, all have the possibility to follow his example of personal integrity, moral leadership, public outreach and commitment to restricting scientific endeavor to constructive purposes.

    David Krieger is a founder and president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (www.wagingpeace.org). He served as chair of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility.

  • New Modes of Thinking

    New Modes of Thinking

    “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.” ~Albert Einstein

    This is a prescient warning to humanity from the greatest scientist of the 20th century, the individual who conceived of the enormous power that could be released from the atom.

    What did Einstein mean?

    It may seem like a simple statement, but it is an extraordinarily formidable challenge.

    Nuclear weapons require us to awaken to the possibility of human extinction.

    They require us to put away our old ways of thinking, rooted in selfishness, greed, injustice, nationalism and violence.

    They require us to see everyone as a member of the human family, and to treat them accordingly.

    They require us to value life and to refuse to kill.

    They require us to consign war to the dustbin of history.

    They require us to seek justice and human rights for all.

    They require us to recognize we share one rare and precious planet, the only one we know of in the universe that supports life.

    They require us to place humanity above country or tribe.

    They require us to stretch for higher moral purpose and values to deal effectively with our technological prowess, not only as it applies to nuclear technologies, but also to artificial intelligence, climate chaos and other forms of environmental degradation.

    They require us to politically engage on behalf of humanity and our children’s future.

    They require us, as difficult as it may be, to put the nuclear genie back in the bottle and to keep it there.

  • Nuclear Insanity: A Brief Outline

    David KriegerAlbert Einstein, at the request of his friend and fellow physicist, Leo Szilard, sent a letter dated August 2, 1939 to President Franklin Roosevelt, in which he expressed concern about the potential for an atomic weapon and the possibility that the Germans would develop such a weapon.  Einstein recommended increased scientific efforts and better funding in the US.  This led to the establishment of a low-budget Uranium Project and then, in 1942, to the large-scale Manhattan Engineering Project to develop atomic weapons.


    The Nuclear Age began in the summer of 1945 with the first test of a nuclear device at Alamogordo, New Mexico, followed within a month by the destruction of two undefended Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The bombings demonstrated the direct effects of nuclear weapons: blast, fires and radiation.  Approximately 90,000 people in Hiroshima died immediately and 145,000 by the end of 1945.  Approximately 40,000 people in Nagasaki died immediately and 75,000 by the end of 1945.  The survivors of these bombings continue to suffer from radiation-related illnesses.


    By early 1946 the US had tested nuclear weapons in its Trust Territory, the Marshall Islands.  For the next three years, until the Soviets tested their first nuclear weapons, the US engaged in a unilateral nuclear arms race.  Between 1946 and 1958, the US conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands with the equivalent explosive power of one-and-a-half Hiroshima bombs each day for 12 years.  The Marshall Islanders continue to suffer from radiation-related illnesses.


    In 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon, breaking the US nuclear monopoly and opening the way for a nuclear arms race between the US and Soviet Union. 


    In 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) entered into force.  The parties to the treaty agreed that, in exchange for non-nuclear weapon states committing not to develop or acquire nuclear weapons, the nuclear weapon states would engage in good faith negotiations for nuclear disarmament.


    At the height of the nuclear arms race, in 1986, there were over 70,000 nuclear weapons in the world, with over 97 percent in the arsenals of the US and Soviet Union.


    In 1995, 25 years after the NPT entered into force, the parties to the treaty held a Review and Extension Conference, at which they agreed to extend the treaty indefinitely, despite the fact that the nuclear weapon states had made virtually no progress toward fulfilling their nuclear disarmament obligations. 


    A year later, in 1996, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an Advisory Opinion to the United Nations General Assembly in which they stated, “There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control.”


    In 2012, some 20 years after the end of the Cold War, the number of nuclear weapons in the world has been reduced, but there remain more than 19,000 of them, 95 percent of which are in the arsenals of the US and Russia, but some of which are in the UK, France, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea.


    From the beginning of the Nuclear Age to the present, the US alone has spent more than $7.5 trillion on nuclear weapons, their delivery vehicles and their command and control systems.  The US is continuing to spend some $50 to $70 billion annually on its nuclear arsenal.  All nuclear weapon states, including the US, are engaged in modernizing (qualitatively improving) their nuclear arsenals.


    In the 1980s, scientists warned of Nuclear Winter, but their models were not highly sophisticated and were challenged.  In the past several years, though, their findings have been validated using more sophisticated models.


    Leading atmospheric scientists now warn of nuclear famine from the effects of even a small nuclear war.  They modeled a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan in which each side detonates 50 Hiroshima-size nuclear weapons on the other side’s cities.  Smoke from the burning cities would rise into the stratosphere, where it would reduce warming sunlight for up to ten years, dropping temperatures on Earth to the lowest levels in the past 1,000 years and shortening growing seasons across the planet.  The result would be crop failures and a nuclear famine, which could result in the deaths of hundreds of millions to a billion people globally.


    In the modeled India-Pakistan nuclear exchange, less than one-half of one percent of the explosive power in the deployed nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia would be used.  A nuclear war between the US and Russia, in which the cities and industrial areas of the two countries were attacked, could result in lowering global temperatures to those of the last Ice Age 18,000 years ago, leading to the extinction of most or all complex life on the planet. 


    Launch-ready, land-based nuclear-armed missiles are particularly dangerous, because there would be very little time for decision makers to determine whether an alarm were real or false.  The presidents of the US and Russia would have 12 minutes or less to decide whether to launch a retaliatory attack to what could be a false warning.


    Nuclear weapons and human fallibility are a dangerous mix, particularly when extinction could be the result of human or technological error.


    The possibility of nuclear famine makes nuclear weapons abolition imperative, since the future of human survival on the planet may well depend upon it.


    To end the threat of nuclear omnicide (death of all) by means of nuclear famine, a three-step process is needed.


    First, a major education program to warn policy makers and the public of the dangers of nuclear famine.


    Second, an advocacy program to obtain commitments from the nuclear weapon states of No Use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states and No First Use of the weapons against other nuclear weapon states.  If no country used their nuclear weapons first, they would not be used.


    Third, an advocacy program to achieve a new treaty for complete nuclear disarmament, as required by the terms of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice.  The new treaty, a Nuclear Weapons Convention, would provide for the phased, verifiable, irreversible and transparent elimination of nuclear weapons.


    Achieving such a treaty will require leadership from the US, the only country to have used nuclear weapons and the most technologically advanced country on the planet.  Pressure from US citizens and from non-nuclear weapon states will be needed in support of US leadership.


    To put pressure on the nuclear weapon states to commit to No First Use and a Nuclear Weapons Convention, bold action is needed.  At the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, we propose that, if the nuclear weapon states have not already begun negotiations for a Nuclear Weapons Convention by the start of the 2015 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, the non-nuclear weapon states boycott the Review Conference and initiate a process for negotiating a Nuclear Weapons Convention.