Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Startpreis
£ 100
AuktionsdatumClassic
15.12.2023 11:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Veranstaltungsort
Vereinigtes Königreich, London
Archiv
Die Auktion ist abgeschlossen. Es können keine Gebote mehr abgegeben werden.
Archive
ID 1109141
Los 339 | Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Autograph letter signed (with initials, 'A.E.') to Cornelius Lanczos, Princeton, 19 June 1943
In German. One page, 278 x 214mm. Provenance: Sotheby's, 26 November 1980, lot 164.

'The miracle of the comprehensibility of what is only given so indirectly'. Einstein and his sister have read a lecture by Lanczos with great interest and approval. He comments that 'Positivists and pragmatists come out of it as bearers of a world-feeling in the same way that the Epicureans seemed to pious Jews and Christians ... But there is some truth in it, namely that these philosophical directions, obsessed with sense-data, have lost their understanding of the miracle of the comprehensibility of what is only given so indirectly'. He adds that critics who attempt to pick apart the reasoning of the argument will simply have missed the point, and concludes provocatively: 'I would be interested to know how something so un-American affects the learned people here. Have you had any experience in this regard? It would be a kind of psychological "test"'.

Einstein's use of the word 'un-American' in relation to Lanczos's philosophical exploration is prophetic, as Lanczos did indeed run foul of McCarthy-era suspicions of 'Un-American' leanings.
Adresse der Versteigerung CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
Vereinigtes Königreich
Vorschau
09.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
10.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
11.12.2023 09:00 – 20:00
12.12.2023 09:00 – 17:00
13.12.2023 09:00 – 17:00
Telefon +44 (0)20 7839 9060
E-Mail
Aufgeld see on Website
NutzungsbedingungenNutzungsbedingungen

Mehr von Creator

A signed photograph
A signed photograph
$100
On his family's applications for U.S. citizenship
On his family's applications for U.S. citizenship
$100
Writing to Mount Wilson astronomer Gustaf Stromberg
Writing to Mount Wilson astronomer Gustaf Stromberg
$100
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
£100
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
£100
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
£100
Supporting Austrian Jewish educator Eugenie Schwarzwald
Supporting Austrian Jewish educator Eugenie Schwarzwald
$1 500
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
£100

Verwandte Begriffe