Werner Heisenberg: Physics and Beyond - Encounters and Conversations

luc

Ambassador
Ambassador
FOTCM Member
Just finished this wonderful book, „Physics and Beyond” by famous physicist Werner Heisenberg (German orig. title “Der Teil und das Ganze”) and can highly recommend it for those interested in philosophy, physics and history. It’s kind of a mix between autobiography, recounting Heisenberg’s many conversations with his fellow physicists (Niels Bohr, Wolfgang Pauli, Einstein, Max Planck etc.) about physics, but also philosophy, ethics and so on, and history. I think everyone can understand it even with no prior knowledge of physics, though I guess some background knowledge helps to get more out of the book in some chapters.

I found it very touching on a human level as well, and very inspirational in these dark times. These physicists, at least the group around Heisenberg/Bohr, were truly outstanding in many ways, and it was a better world back then, no doubt. Reading the book allowed me to reconnect to a depth that seems lost in so many ways nowadays. Reading it was a very healing experience.

Among so many fascinating things, what stood out for me was the level of philosophical discussion that went on between these people. And it’s not clouded in jargon, but straight and honest and sophisticated thinking. It seems many were on the right track back then, recognizing the ordering force out there that we intuitively feel and that you can even have a relationship with, just as you can have a relationship with another soul, the “center” of a being that orders it and keeps it together. It’s also noteworthy that Niels Bohr recognized even in the 20ies/30ies that “random mutation” is unlikely to produce life, and von Neumann was even more damning when talking about Darwinism. Heisenberg too saw through it and, it seems to me, was repelled by the sheer vulgarity of the theory. They still gave at least aspects of it serious consideration, though.

Another enlightening part of the book is that Heisenberg recounts German history from his perspective, and tells of his experiences and conversations when the Nazis took power and later (he stayed in Germany throughout the war). It's a bit like Haffner's "Defying Hitler" in that regard at some points, although Heisenberg made different decisions. What he tells us about all that is so eerily similar to what we are going through today! And I found some of his moral reasoning about this very helpful and relevant.

Still another aspect in this book is the shameful decline in interest in the "big questions" in today's physics, but really in all of science. Reading about these wonderful conversations, I couldn't help but think what could be possible if science had developed with people like them at the helm, without corruption, grants and just a super-strong sense of "wanting to know". Heisenberg himself seemed to have been optimistic about the future of his discipline, and even found some good aspects in the "taboo" of asking the big questions, but it seems half-hearted. But his wife expresses her doubts more clearly.

One interesting bit of information concerns Wolfgang Pauli, Heisenberg's old buddy, who, after the war, was apparently super-enthousiastic in his endeavor to work on Unified Field Theory. He was literally on fire and thought he was onto something just ready to bear fruits. But then he went to the US for a while, and Heisenberg even told him before that he's not sure that the "pragmatic Americans" will do him and his work any good at this stage, but he went nonetheless. When he returned, he was a different person, with no energy and very resigned, and he died shortly after. It could have all kinds of reasons, but still it makes me wonder what role certain institutes in the US have played in the field? Just speculation of course.

Anyway, I deeply enjoyed this book and found it fascinating, touching and uplifting, especially in these dark and stupid times. Unfortunately, the English translation is out of print, and used copies can be quite expensive, it's a shame, really! But maybe you're lucky, and I think it's worth it. The German version is still in print though.
 
Well that sounds like a wonderful read, but it's too bad the English translation is out of print.
 
  • Like
Reactions: luc
Sounds fascinating, thanks for sharing luc. As for an english copy, it's pretty easy to find online. Just enter the book author and name in a yandex search with "pdf" attached at the end and you can find it in a couple of places.
 
Back
Top Bottom