The meaning of it all

The thread that can be followed throughout the series of lectures is the value of scepticism. Scepticism and doubt kept science sane for centuries. After describing what he considers the essence of science, Feynman tries to answer several questions arising at the boundary between science and the society. Is there a conflict between science and religion? Can science be applied to moral and ethical questions? How can the inspirational value of religion be preserved when the belief in God is uncertain? In the last lecture, Feynman elaborates some abuses of statistics he encountered, like mixing up the probability with the possibility, a posteriori statistical reasoning etc.

The book will probably first and foremost attract Feynman devotees, who already have all the other books he has written and cannot miss one. The book also reflects some of the atmosphere of the cold war 60's, so it might be of some interest for those who either lived in that era or have some special historic interest in it. But aside from this, no collection of Feynman's papers published after his death has ever reached the mastership of books he actively prepared.

I have to be honest to admit that I can barely read most of his scientific work. I'm just not that smart. But he was also humorous and wise and this book is more about his general belief system and other matters.

Even his prose is not easy reading. His sentences are so long and complex and so well-constructed that the reader feels like he's swimming on the surface of the deepest part of the ocean. Whole lectures feel perfectly designed and complete, all in a curious, Woody Allen, Jewish persona.

I actually believe and follow his worldview, which was roughly analagous to Einstein's.

They were Secular Humanists. They believed that God if he exists, only manifests in a very distant, abstract sense. Both were loathe to accept specific religious views.

It is Feynman's view that science rejects the type of absolute certainty at the core of most mainstream religious views of the world. Interestingly, he includes Soviet Communism as a type of religion, which is understandable when you think about it.

Much of this book is really about the intersection of science and philosophy. He asks: how do we justify right and wrong and other human standards in a world without such a self-invented reward-and-punishment system.

This is surely one of the questions for the ages, one that Feynman clearly believes is beyond the inherent limits of the scientific worldview. He believed that the flaw was inherent in human makeup, and that the solution was also there - not in the science but in the application.

His example was: why is there no water system in the slums of Rio? The money to improve people's lives is there. The will to action is not.

Both Feynman and Einstein considered capitalism a necessary but untrustworthy system, and had political leanings toward the Left.

Feynman discusses the serious responsibilities involved with science, which has in the 20th century been the Pandora's box, bringing enormous forces and power into the world for either good or abuse or evil.

He puts forward perhaps 6 absolute truths that allow for improved human interaction and the greater good of mankind. Most are obliquely political in nature, democracy, freedom of speech, separation of science from exterior interests or intervention, the value of uncertainty,

But in the end, his combined belief system is unclear. It lacks something that the human spirit requires for complete fulfillment. He fully recognized this and I don't fault him for it.

The paradox he attempts to address are inherent in the basic fabric of the world, and if he did think that he knew the answers he would be a different animal altogether.

Considering the direction the nation has taken these last few years, his voice is sorely missed.

This is no treatise on physics but is instead Feynman given free reign to express his views on the applicability of science to other areas of society. In fact, the title is a bit misleading and implies a grander scope than is actually covered. The actual lecture series was titled "A Scientist Looks at Society" and I suspect Feynman would have preferred this more prosaic but accurate title for this posthumously published book.

The three lectures were titled "The Uncertainty of Science," "The Uncertainty of Values" and "This Unscientific Age." The organization and quality of the three lectures is uneven, but for the most part they all shine with Feynman's clear thinking and sparkling wit. By way of example, here is what he said during his introductory remarks:

"New in this difficult business of talking about the impact of one field on those of another, I shall start at the end that I know. I do know about science. I know its ideas and its methods, its attitudes toward knowledge, the sources of its progress, its mental discipline. And therefore, in this first lecture, I shall talk about the science that I know, and I shall leave the more ridiculous of my statements for the next two lectures, at which, I assume, the general law is that the audiences will be smaller."

Feynman is at his best as he discusses critical importance of a comfort level with uncertainty, critical thinking and judgment based on observation. His discussion of the conflict between Christianity and science is thought provoking. He slips a bit in his second lecture as he transitions abruptly from his religion-science discussion to the topic of the US-USSR competition, a topic which is not treated clearly enough or in sufficient depth to present a well-developed point of view.

This is a very quick, engaging read and will be enjoyed by both Feynman fans and those just looking for a peek at the thoughts of one of the more talented minds of the twentieth century.