PHILOSOPHY
The first philosophical theme pervading the story of Oppenheimer and Los Alamos is the Bhagavad Gita4 (6 references in 109 East Palace including the epigram starting this series of blogs). We are perhaps not surprised to learn that a genius like Oppenheimer learned to read Sanskrit just so he might read the text in its original language. He first read it to lift himself out of depression when he was studying psychiatry. In his search for wisdom in religion and philosophy he also read more extensively from the Mahabharata5 with the chairman of the Sanskrit department at Berkeley. I find Oppenheimer’s interest in the Bhagavad Gita revealing as its major thesis involves duty (particularly an unsavory duty) and three philosophical approaches to the performance of such duty.
The second philosophical theme is the philosophy of science which increasingly dominates discussions among the Los Alamos scientists during 1944 and 1945, specifically on the nature of physics and its future in light of nuclear experiments. Stanislaw Ulam notes there were “wide-ranging discussions of the philosophy of science…The intellectual quality of so many interesting persons and their being constantly together was unique. In the entire history of science there had never been anything even remotely approaching such a concentration.”6 Wouldn’t it be fascinating to be in the rooms with these groundbreaking researchers and engineers as they debate the truth, meaning, and use of science in a shrinking world at war.
We have also Oppenheimer’s brief thoughts regarding one of the philosophical problems of modern science. On receiving from President Lyndon Johnson, the Enrico Fermi Award for his contributions to theoretical physics and the development of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer quotes Thomas Jefferson on “the brotherly spirit of science which unites into a family all its votaries.” He then reflects on the decision not to share science in the circumstance of the “great enterprise of our time, testing whether men can…live without war as the great arbiter of history…”7
Third, as this site is focused on the dual summa bonum of happiness and meaning, I cannot leave out Dorothy McKibbin’s thoughts on happiness (referring to the time just after the birth of her son, Peter). One is amazed that what one assumes is the transient exhilaration of recent motherhood produces such a complex description of the more profound meaning of happiness:
“There is nothing personal about happiness. It is an aliveness. It is a oneness with nature and humanity, It is a deep knowledge of suffering and desolation, It is an intenseness of feeling, of understanding good and evil. Compassion. Vital awareness of being a part of the universe in all of its manifestations. Harmony. Acute knowledge of kinship with all the peoples of the earth. Recognition of true values. Preoccupation with truth.”8
Regular readers of this site will recognize that many of McKibbin’s observations appear here as well… and repeatedly.
(further continued next post)
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4The Bhagavad Gita (or Song of the Blessed One) is an epic Hindu poem where Krishna (the One) is the charioteer and guide for the reluctant warrior, Arjuna (the Prince) who must battle family, friends, and former teachers to fulfill his duty. It is a portion of the Mahabharata.
5The Mahabharata (the Great War of the Bharatas) is a massive Hindu epic of 100,000 verses, roughly equivalent to the Judeo-Christian Bible for Hindus, containing many philosophical parts including the Bhagavad Gita.
6Conant, Jennet, 109 East Palace. Simon & Schuster, New York, 2005. ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-5008-5, page 255.
7Ibid., page 391.
8Ibid., page 14.
