THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE

( from Albert Einstein's letter of 1916)

"How does a normally talented research scientist come to concern himself with the theory of knowledge? Is there not more valuable work to be done in his field? I hear this from many of my professional col­leagues; or rather, I sense in the case of many more of them that this is what they feel."

"I cannot share this opinion. When I think of the ablest students whom I have encountered in teaching – i. e., those who distinguished themselves by their independence of judgment, and not only mere agil­ity – I find that they had a lively concern for the theory of knowledge. They liked to start discussions concerning the aims and methods of the sciences, and showed unequivocally by the obstinacy with which they defended their views that this subject seemed important to them."

"This is really not astonishing. For when I turn to science not for some superficial reason such as money-making or ambition, and also not (or at least not exclusively) for the pleasure of the sport, the de­lights of brain-athletics, then the following questions must burningly interest me as a disciple of this science: What goal will and can be reached by the science to which I am dedicating myself? To what ex­tent are its general results "true"? What is essential, and what is based only on the accidents of development?..."

"Concepts which have proved useful for ordering things easily as­sume so great an authority over us, that we forget their terrestrial origin and accept them as unalterable facts. They then become labelled as "conceptual necessities," "a priori situations," etc. The road of scien­tific progress is frequently blocked for long periods by such errors. It is therefore not just an idle game to exercise our ability to analyze famil­iar concepts, and to demonstrate the conditions on which their justifi­cation and usefulness depend, and the way in which these developed, little by little..."

Discussion

How would you answer the questions?

1. Do you think the questions suggested in paragraph 1 were posed by Albert Einstein? Give your reasons to confirm your answer / opinion.

2. What opinion is expressed in paragraph 1? Why couldn't Albert Einstein share that opinion?

3. Why do you think the questions posed by Albert Einstein in para­graph 3 burningly interested him?

4. Comment on the idea expressed in the sentence "The road of sci­entific progress is frequently blocked for long periods by such er­rors."

5. "Scientific progress is impossible without being concerned with the theory of knowledge." Agree or disagree.

Pretext tasks

1. Check if you know these international words, look them up in the dictionary, if necessary:

Archeological, invariably, concrete, construction, original, legionary, Emperor, unique, occupation, aqueduct, cultivation, indicate, manufacture, crematory, hygienic.

2. Practice reading the following words and phrases:

Threatening, precious, amateur, flourish, frontier, artisan, successive, excavation, retrieve, frieze, havoc, yield, deceased.

3. What do you know about the following places and people:

Emperors Claudius, Augustus, Honorius, the city of Lincoln, the Danes, the Normans?

4. While reading the text make your own topical vocabulary of historical and archeological terms used in it.

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