Transcript Inside the Mind of Albert Einstein

INSIDE THE MIND
OF
ALBERT EINSTEIN
KELSEY COLE
BRUCE DEGRE
RACHEL GUILLAUME
JESSICA HOLLADAY
SALINA ORTIZ
BRIEF BIO
• The greatest mind of the 20th century is largely regarded as the theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.
• Born: Württemberg, Germany on March 14, 1879
• Died: Princeton, New Jersey on April 18, 1955
• Einstein’s father constantly had young Albert on the move living in Germany, Munich, Italy, and
Switzerland.
• It is in Switzerland that Einstein would receive his formal education as a mathematics teacher.
“THE MIRACLE YEAR”
• 1905 was largely regarded as “the miracle year” for Albert Einstein
• It was in 1905 that he would publish four papers in Annalen der Physik, a physics journal largely
regarded as the most prestigious at the time.
• Of the four papers, most well known is Einstein’s theory of relativity.
• This of course was the big breakthrough in physics of the 20th century.
• Also noteworthy, 1905 would also be the year Albert Einstein would receive his doctorate degree.
INSIDE THE MIND
• Albert Einstein is very appropriately considered one of the greatest scientific and mathematical minds
of all time.
• Accordingly, nothing could be more fascinating than tapping into this beautiful mind.
• For this, we look to three remarkable analyzers of the mind, human behavior, and development:
Adolf Adler
Carl Jung
Sigmund Freud
ADLERIAN PERSPECTIVE
• Albert Einstein’s fame has won him a platform
from which he often voiced out his opinion against
social injustice and racism
• According to Adlerian perspective, social interest
is inherent in people and forms the ultimate
standard for psychological health. Albert Einstein
seems to fit in this category
• “People strive for superiority or success to compensate for feelings of inferiority.”
• “The manner in which people strive for superiority or success is shaped by their subjective
perceptions or expectations of the future.”
ADLERIAN TENETS
• 1. The striving force behind people’s behavior is either success or superiority
Einstein always regarded his major achievements as mere stepping stones for the next advance.
• 2. people’s subjective perceptions shape their behavior and personality
The young Einstein found the authoritarianism and militarism of the German educational system
profoundly disturbing.
The virulent nationalism and brutality of the First World War served to confirm Einstein’s pacifist and
internationalist convictions.
ADLERIAN TENETS
• 3. Personality unified and consistent
In the 1920's Einstein became an active leader of the international anti-war movement and supported
conscious objections.
After writing his famous letter to president Roosevelt urgently advocating for military preparedness,
Einstein realized that nuclear weapons were a profound risk to humanity.
• 4. The value of all human activity must be seen from a viewpoint of social interest
Throughout his life, Albert Einstein felt a close affinity with the Jewish people. Einstein defined
Judaism as a culture with a shared historical past and common ethical values rather than as an
institutionalized religion. For him the main values of Judaism were intellectual aspiration and the
pursuit of social justice.
ADLERIAN TENETS
• 5. The self-consistent personality develops into a person’s lifestyle
Einstein was a proponent of civil rights. Einstein, who had experienced heavy anti-Semitic
discrimination in pre-World War II Germany, worked with a number of leading civil rights activists and
civil rights organizations (such as the Princeton chapter of the NAACP) to demand equality and
denounce racism and segregation. Wherever he saw injustice, Einstein spoke out.
• 6. Style of life is modeled by people's creative power
Einstein’s view was straightforward, non-political and non-sectarian. His philosophy was to promote
international reconciliation through scientific work and social achievements. He stipulated that
“creative work lifts people above personal and selfish national aims”.
• “Inconsistent behavior does not exist … Thoughts, feelings, and actions are all directed toward
a single goal and serve a single purpose”.
• “Style of life includes a person’s goal, self-concept, feelings for others, and attitude toward the
world … A healthy, socially useful style of life is expressed in a person’s cooperation, personal
courage and willingness to make a contribution to the welfare of another.”
CARL JUNG AND EINSTEIN
• Attitudes
• Functions
• Jung’s Psychological Types
ATTITUDES
• Defined by Jung as “the readiness of the psyche to act or react in a particular way.”
• Comes in two opposing pairs…
Introversion (more reserved)
Extroversion (more outgoing)
FUNCTIONS
Four main functions of the mind can be combined with both Introversion and Extroversion:
• Thinking
“logical intellectual activity that produces a chain of ideas”
• Feeling
“evaluating (or more accurately, valuing) an idea or event”
• Sensing
“receiving physical stimuli and perceiving them in consciousness”
• Intuiting
“perception beyond the workings of consciousness (more creative than sensing)”
JUNG’S PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPES
• Einstein is often classified as INTP, a personality type of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
• INTP stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving.
• These personality types are usually described as more reserved, more abstract in thought, place higher
value on logic and objectivism (as opposed to personal value), less judgmental and like to “keep their
options open”.
• Typically excel in areas such as Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics due to the value they
place on personal independence, as well as their analytical way of thinking. No wonder Einstein is
considered to fit into this group!
FREUDIAN PERSPECTIVE
• The Freudian theory focuses on sex and aggression. Something that Albert Einstein is not famous for,
but it is a prominent factor in the personality behind the genius.
• Einstein’s past is filled with romantic involvements which contrasts his religious family upbringing.
DRIVES
• According to Freud, people are motivated to seek pleasure and to reduce tension and anxiety.
• These fundamental drives are what shaped Albert Einstein's complex and mysterious personality.
SEX
• Alfred Einstein was married at the age of 24, but a year before his marriage to Mileva Maric, the couple
had already conceived a daughter together.
• Soon after their third child was born, Einstein began an affair with his first cousin. He then divorced his
first wife to marry his cousin.
• He did not stay faithful to his new wife, he had many affairs with other women during there 17 year
marriage.
• Freudian analysis would assume that Einstein had a large libido stemming from narcissism, sadism and
masochism. He demonstrates these behaviors through his premarital affairs with his wife, followed by
his family affair with his cousin.
DEFENSE MECHANISMS
•
Repression, Denial, Projection, Displacement, Regression and Sublimation
“Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity.”
Einstein’s early development of speech was slow and his childhood education suffered due to his
delinquency and insubordination. He was even expelled at one time.
• These projections of aggression and defense mechanisms could be interpreted as a symptom of early
identity issues as a Jewish child in a catholic school.
PERSONALITY TYPES
• Freud breaks down the personalities of individuals into three main theories: erotics, narcissists and
obsessives.
• Einstein’s personality is both narcissistic and obsessive.
• His inability to stay monogamous in his relationships show his sex drive is primarily motivated by self
pleasure.
• Einstein at an early age was curious. This curiosity became his life’s obsession and turned into a
constant need to learn and improve himself through college and his career, leading to his Nobel prize
and influential work in physics.
• Because his education and career always took preciseness over all else, Freudian theory would label his
behaviors and personality obsessive.
ALBERT EINSTEIN IN A NUTSHELL
• Most recognized for his theory of relativity published in 1905 and considered one of the greatest minds
of the 20th Century.
• Adler would describe Einstein as displaying the highest standard of mental health.
• Jung would classify Einstein as INTP : Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking & Perceiving.
• Freud would label Einstein's personality as narcissistic and obsessive.
• Although Einstein developed slowly during his childhood and had a somewhat controversial love life, he
still successfully contributed to the scientific and humanitarian communities on global level.