The Cosmic and
the Comic: Einstein’s Scientific Spirituality
by
Glenn Statile
1) Introduction
A recent documentary about the life of Albert
Einstein depicts the dying sage in conversation
with a concerned and kindly nurse. The two
commence a conversational exchange that to those
of a philosophical disposition might seem
reminiscent of a similar episode described by
Plato in the Phaedo. Within hours of his
own execution at the hands of the Athenian state
for corrupting the local youth, Socrates embarks
upon a spirited conversation with his companions
in which he divulges the rational basis
underlying his confidence in the immortality of
the soul. Einstein meanwhile tells the nurse
that his lifelong scientific quest of tinkering
with the truth about nature is akin to that of a
laborer tending to the plants in a garden. When
the nurse presses on as to the professor’s
curiosity concerning the ultimate plans of the
gardener, who symbolically represents a god who
stands at a distance from his creation, Einstein
is all ready with his response. God is the
garden, says Albert Einstein.