Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World's Great Physicists

by Ken Wilber

Book Overview

The mystical writings of the world's great physicists--now in one eye-opening volume that bridges the gap between science and religion

Quantum Questions collects the mystical writings of each of the major physicists involved in the discovery of quantum physics and relativity, including Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and Max Planck. The selections are written in nontechnical language and will be of interest to scientists...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570627681
• ISBN13: 9781570627682
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The Greatest Physicists were Mystics, Militant Atheists Beware

American philosopher Ken Wilber has done a great service by bringing together in a single volume excerpts from the mystical writings of the world's greatest physicists. Six of the eight men included were Nobel laureates including Einstein, Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Plank, de Broglie, and Pauli. These are the intellectual giants who gave us the twin pillars of modern physics, relativity theory and quantum mechanics, upon which all of contemporary science rests. Given the popular view that they must have been atheists it is astonishing to learn that all of them were quite explicit in expressing the need for a mystical outlook extending beyond the physical world. Let's be clear. Wilber as editor has not pulled a few paragraphs out of context. Erwin Schroedinger for example writes of "the mystic vision", De Broglie writes that "the mechanism demands a mysticism", and Wolfgang Pauli speaks of "embracing the rational and the mystical." None of these men were particularly 'religious' however. The popular religions of today (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc.), may be viewed as specific theories of Ultimate Reality (this reviewer's characterization). They all make specific statements - some empirically testable, many others not - about people and events in the physical world and how these related to God, or Allah, or All That Is, or some similar term. Mysticism on the other hand is not a religion but a path to understanding. It has nothing to do with religious creeds or doctrines, or whether or not there is a personal God, and certainly nothing to do with science which is something else entirely. Mystics simply believe on the basis of personal experience that there is likely to exist another level or levels of consciousness beyond that of the five senses. Through rigorous mental practice they believe that it is possible to access wisdom and insight from that level which represents the highest or ultimate reality. Individual mystics may personally identify with one religion or another but the practice of mysticism as a path is found in all the major religions and is, in and of itself, areligious. This point is unfortunately muddied in Wilber's otherwise quite interesting introduction where he equates religion with spirituality (p.18), something most thoughtful people would probably strongly reject. One can be deeply spiritual without committing to any specific set of religious doctrines. Finally, I feel compelled comment on Wilber's assertion that the physicists would reject so called New Age books like "The Tao of Physics" and "The Dancing Wu Li Masters". The key argument of such books is less that physics "proves" Taoism or Buddhism or some other form of Eastern esoteric thought but rather that seemingly bizarre and unbelievable statements about the nature of space and time and reality made by practitioners of these traditions appear to be supported by the findings of modern physics. (Cf. for example G. Zukav, "Wu

Written by Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Einstein, De Broglie,

This is simply a fascinating collection of the words of many recognized masters of physics on the topic of the science of physics and how it relates (or doesn't) to religion and spirituality. There is a short introduction by Ken Wilber. If you value such information, here's your book. I wrote this review because the book is worth 5 stars. The one person who criticized the book, and brought the rating down to 4 stars, seemed to be talking about some other book. The review made no sense. My take is that it was a rant against a perception rather than an experience of the book. There is nothing New Age about this book. And this is much less a book about Ken Wilber's views (which are not New Age anyway) and much more a book about the views of Eddington, Pauli, Planck, Jeans, etc. If you're curious about the spiritual views of these men, here's your opportunity. Enjoy!!!

A book uniting Science and religion

If science and religion split after Pythagoras, this book proves that is really was not so. If you believe that science takes away faith, think again. Ken Wilber gives us essays from the greatest minds that shaped the 20th Century. Starting with Heisenberg and ending with Eddington, Wilbers collection of essays is a wonderful example of how it was the deepest of faiths and ideas in God and religion that drove some of the best minds. In his introduction, Wilber goes the step ahead to actually almost lay such faith and views as a precondition to stellar scientific achievement. What Wilber attempts here in his introduction is a masterly synthesis of human thought, in some bold extrapolations.Definitely worth reading and keeeping as a precious possession.

Essential Book! Proof Einstein, etc. were spiritual men.

I am replacing a lost copy of this book. It is essential in my library. People believe the great physicists were atheists. This book will completely dispell that notion. They shared a view of Ultimate Reality (God, if you feel comfortable with that word) that is very consistant with the Eastern, yogic idea that U.R. can be known through direct experience and that all that is is a manifestation of That. If your friends tell you mysticism is a fairy tail, whip out a copy of this book. When they find that Einstein, Plank, Heisenburg, etc. even based their discoveries on it, they will have to eat their words!