> Einstein played no role in the Manhattan Project, having been denied a security clearance in July 1940 due to his pacifist tendencies. [...] After World War II, he worked to control nuclear proliferation.
You're talking about the principal author of the
Einstein–Szilárd letter to FDR. He literally started the Manhattan Project.
Einstein's political and social views evolved throughout his life, something he had in common with many highly intelligent people. As a result, it is possible to quote-mine Einstein to back up almost any point you care to make. This is a perfect example.
If one cane presume that Einstein did not grow wiser with age, then sure, one can use any quote to back up any point you care to make. But if you're being honest about the man and his legacy, I think one should probably stick with his latter-life views.
If one can presume that Einstein did not grow wiser with age, then sure, one can use any quote to back up any point you care to make
Yes, and the people who do so tend to presume just that.
But if you're being honest about the man and his legacy, I think one should probably stick with his latter-life views.
Sure. But my point is that the quote in question was from 1931, only one year before he was forced to flee Germany with a price on his head. Einstein found that while it was easy enough to dismiss national loyalty as an unpleasant artifact of the past, national governments weren't willing to dismiss racism and prejudice in the bargain. Once he understood that whoever got the Bomb first was going to win the war, it was necessary for him to pick a side, and he did just that.
After the war was won by the good guys, there was plenty of time for second-guessing and self-flagellation, and he did his share of that, too. He had the luxury of pacifism in 1951 just as he did in 1931.
Einstein's political and social views evolved throughout his life, something he had in common with many highly intelligent people. As a result, it is possible to quote-mine Einstein to back up almost any point you care to make. This is a perfect example.