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As the issues are greater than men ever sought to realize before, the recriminations will be fiercer and pride more desperately hurt. It may help to recall that many recognized before the bomb ever fell that the time had already come when we must learn to live in One World. The stakes are immense, the task colossal, the time is short. But we may hope - we must hope - that man's own creation, man's own genius, will not destroy him. Scholars, indeed all men, must move forward in the faith of that philosopher who held that there is no problem the human reason can propound which the human reason cannot reason out.

Albert Einstein#129

HumanityPeaceProgressReasonGlobal

About this quote

What does it mean?
Einstein notes that global issues require unity, but pride and recrimination hinder progress. He urges faith in human reason to solve these problems.
In plain terms
Global challenges need unity but pride stops us. Trust human reason to fix problems.
What can you take from it?
Human reason can solve the problems it creates.

Where it applies

  • post-war reconstruction
  • global governance

Putting it to work

  • rational thinking
  • international cooperation

Questions to consider

  • Can reason solve all human problems?
  • Is faith in humanity justified?

Another view

This assumes reason always prevails over emotion and ideology.

More from Albert Einstein

  1. Many persons have inquired concerning a recent message of mine that 'a new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move to higher levels.' O…

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  2. Does there truly exist an insuperable contradiction between religion and science? Can religion be superseded by science? The answers to these questions have, f…

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  3. Science not only purifies the religious impulse of the dross of its anthropomorphism but also contributes to a religious spiritualization of our understanding …

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