Albert Einstein is regarded as one of the most significant scientists of the modern era. He achieved world fame as a physicist. His thinking has been the subject of numerous studies. Even his brain has been studied – in the hope of getting closer to unravelling the mystery of his extraordinary mind. Yet Einstein’s genius lay not in his anatomy, but in his keen sense of tensions, contradictions and conflicts. He discovered and created them as persistent, protracted and therefore creative problems – not only in physics, but also in his engagement with political, religious and cultural issues.
In seven vignettes, Fynn Ole Engler traces Einstein’s train of thought in science, whilst also shedding light on his reflections on pacifism, politics, ethics and religion, drawing on numerous sources. He reveals the intellectual richness of an inspiring figure who still has much to tell us today about the art of unifying thought in times of global crises.
Non-fiction
Fynn Ole Engler, born in Wismar in 1971, works as a philosopher of science at the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Rostock. From 2006 to 2024, he conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. His work focuses on the evolving relationship between reason, science and history. His most recent book, Gespaltene Vernunft (co-authored with Jürgen Renn), was published by Matthes & Seitz Berlin in 2018.
