Tony Simpson tells us how the Russell-Einstein manifesto led to Pugwash.
“He was not only a great scientist but a greatman, a man whom it is good to have known and consoling to contemplate.” With these words Bertrand Russell concluded his Preface to Einstein on Peace (1960). Down the years, Russell and Albert Einstein had met from time to time, but they did not see much of each other except in 1943, when they were both living in Princeton. Then they would meet weekly at Einstein’s house to discuss “various matters in the philosophy of science.” Wolfgang Pauli and Kurt Gödel also attended. “I found these informal discussions very illuminating and exceedingly valuable,” said Russell.
Later, the US hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in March 1954 had spread radioactive fall-out across wide areas, contaminating Japanese fishermen and their catch aboard the Lucky Dragon fishing boat. Both the United States and the Soviet Union now had the hydrogen bomb. So in February 1955, Russell sent Einstein a proposal:
“In common with every other thinking person, I am profoundly disquieted by the armaments race in nuclear weapons. You have on various occasions given expression to feelings and opinions with which I am in close agreement. I think that eminent men of science ought to do something dramatic to bring home to the public and governments the disasters that may occur. Do you think it would be possible to get, say, six men of the very highest scientific repute headed by yourself, to make a very solemn statement about the imperative necessity of avoiding war?”
Notwithstanding his failing health, Einstein responded enthusiastically:
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The Two Dennises
Hannah Mortimer observes a close encounter of the same kind.
Heraclitus (c.500 BC)
Harry Keith lets flow a stream of ideas about permanence and change.
Does the Cosmos Have a Purpose?
Raymond Tallis argues intently against universal intention.
Is Driving Fossil-Fuelled Cars Immoral?
Rufus Duits asks when we can justify driving our carbon contributors.
Abelard & Carneades Yes & No
Frank Breslin says 'yes and no' to presenting both sides of an argument.
Frankl & Sartre in Search of Meaning
Georgia Arkell compares logotherapy and atheistic existentialism.
Luce Irigaray
Luce Irigaray, now ninety-two years old, was, among many other things, one of the most impactful feminists of the 1970s liberation movements - before she was marginalised, then ostracised, from the francophone intellectual sphere.
Significance
Ruben David Azevedo tells us why, in a limitless universe, we’re not insignificant.
The Present Is Not All There Is To Happiness
Rob Glacier says don’t just live in the now.
Philosophers Exploring The Good Life
Jim Mepham quests with philosophers to discover what makes a life good.