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Erwin SchrödingerErwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger (12 August 1887 – 4January 1961) Austrian-Irish physicist, a pioneer of quantum mechanicsand winner of the 1933 Nobel Prize for Physics; famous for his proposal ofthe Schrödinger's cat thought experiment.
Contents [hide]
1 Sourced1.1 What Is Life? (1944)1.2 Science and Humanism (1951)1.3 Nature and the Greeks (1954)1.4 Mind and Matter (1958)1.5 My View of the World (1961)
2 Quotes about Schrödinger3 External links
SourcedNirvana is a state of pure blissful knowledge... It has nothing to do with theindividual. The ego or its separation is an illusion. Indeed in a certain sense two "I"'s areidentical namely when one disregards all special contents — their Karma. The goal of man is topreserve his Karma and to develop it further... when man dies his Karma lives and creates for itselfanother carrier.
Writings of July 1918, quoted in A Life of Erwin Schrödinger (1994) by Walter Moore ISBN
0521437679
No self is of itself alone. It has a long chain of intellectualancestors. The "I" is chained to ancestry by many factors ... This is notmere allegory, but an eternal memory.
Writings of July 1918, quoted in A Life of Erwin Schrödinger (1994)by Walter Moore
The stages of human development are to strive for:(1) Besitz [Possession](2) Wissen [Knowledge](3) Können [Ability](4) Sein [Being]
Writings of August 1918, quoted in A Life of Erwin Schrödinger(1994) by Walter Moore
For thousands of years men have striven and suffered and begottenand woman have brought forth in pain. A hundred years ago, perhaps,another man sat on this spot; like you he gazed with awe and yearningin his heart at the dying light on the glaciers. Like you he was begottenof man and born of woman. He felt pain and brief joy as you do. Washe someone else? Was it not you yourself? What is this Self of yours?What was the necessary condition for making the thing conceived thistime into you, just you and not someone else?
Nirvana is a state of pureblissful knowledge... It hasnothing to do with theindividual.
No self is of itself alone.
This is not mere allegory,but an eternal memory.
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Erwin Schrödinger - Wikiquote
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erwin_Schrödinger[8/23/2010 1:11:35 PM]
"Seek for the Road" (1925)
The "Schrödinger equation", equation (3') in "Quantisierung als Eigenwertproblem, VierteMitteilung", Annalen der Physik (1926)
Conditions are admittedly such that we can always manage to make doin each concrete individual case without the two different aspectsleading to different expectations as to the result of certain experiments.We cannot, however, manage to make do with such old,familiar, and seemingly indispensable terms as "real" or"only possible"; we are never in a position to say whatreally is or what really happens, but we can only say whatwill be observed in any concrete individual case. Will wehave to be permanently satisfied with this...? On principle, yes. Onprinciple, there is nothing new in the postulate that in theend exact science should aim at nothing more than thedescription of what can really be observed. The questionis only whether from now on we shall have to refrain from tying description to aclear hypothesis about the real nature of the world. There are many who wish topronounce such abdication even today. But I believe that this means makingthings a little too easy for oneself.
"The Fundamental Idea of Wave Mechanics", Nobel lecture, (12 December 1933)
If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say thatthe cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has decayed. The psi-function ofthe entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat(pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts.
On the conditions of the "Schrödinger's cat" thought-experiment, aspresented in The Present Situation in Quantum Mechanics (1935),translated by John D. Trimmer
God knows I am no friend of probability theory, I have hatedit from the first moment when our dear friend Max Born gaveit birth. For it could be seen how easy and simple it madeeverything, in principle, everything ironed and the true problems concealed.Everybody must jump on the bandwagon [Ausweg]. And actually not a year passedbefore it became an official credo, and it still is.
13th of June, 1946, in a letter to Albert Einstein, as quoted by Walter Moore in Schrödinger: Lifeand Thought (1989) ISBN 0521437679
I insist upon the view that 'all is waves'.9th of November, 1959, in a letter to John Lighton Synge, as quoted by Walter Moore inSchrödinger: Life and Thought (1989) ISBN 0521437679
The multiplicity is only apparent. This is the doctrine of the Upanishads. And not of theUpanishads only. The mystical experience of the union with God regularly leads to this view, unlessstrong prejudices stand in the way.
As quoted in The Eye of Shiva: Eastern Mysticism and Science (1981) by Amaury de Riencourt
Multiplicity is only apparent, in truth, there is only onemind...
"The Oneness of Mind", as translated in Quantum Questions:Mystical Writings of the World's Great Physicists (1984) edited by
We are never in aposition to say what really isor what really happens, butwe can only say what willbe observed in anyconcrete individual case.
Erwin Schrödinger - Wikiquote
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Ken Wilber
Consciousness is never experienced in the plural, only in the singular.Not only has none of us ever experienced more than oneconsciousness, but there is also no trace of circumstantial evidence ofthis ever happening anywhere in the world. If I say that there cannotbe more than one consciousness in the same mind, this seems a blunttautology — we are quite unable to imagine the contrary...
"The Oneness of Mind", as translated in Quantum Questions:Mystical Writings of the World's Great Physicists (1984) edited by Ken Wilber
In itself, the insight is not new. The earliest records, to my knowledge, date backsome 2500 years or more... the recognition ATMAN = BRAHMAN (the personal selfequals the omnipresent, all-comprehending eternal self) was in Indian thoughtconsidered, far from being blasphemous, to represent the quintessence ofdeepest insight into the happenings of the world. The striving of all the scholars ofVedanta was after having learnt to pronounce with their lips, really assimilate in their minds thisgrandest of all thoughts.Again, the mystics of many centuries, independently, yet in perfect harmony with each other(somewhat like the particles in an ideal gas) have described, each of them, the unique experienceof his or her life in terms that can be condensed in the phrase: DEUS FACTUS SUM (I havebecome God).To Western ideology, the thought has remained a stranger... in spite of those true lovers who, asthey look into each other's eyes, become aware that their thought and their joy are numerically one,not merely similar or identical...
"The I That Is God" as translated in Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World's GreatPhysicists (1984) edited by Ken Wilber
The plurality that we perceive is only an appearance; it isnot real. Vedantic philosophy... has sought to clarify it by a number ofanalogies, one of the most attractive being the many-faceted crystalwhich, while showing hundreds of little pictures of what is in reality asingle existent object, does not really multiply that object...
"The Mystic Vision" as translated in Quantum Questions: MysticalWritings of the World's Great Physicists (1984) edited by Ken Wilber
Knowledge, feeling, and choice are essentially eternal andunchangeable and numerically one in all men, nay in all sensitivebeings. But not in this sense — that you are a part, a piece, of aneternal, infinite being, an aspect or modification of it... For we shouldthen have the same baffling question: which part, which aspect areyou? what, objectively, differentiates it from the others? No, but,inconceiveable as it seems to ordinary reason, you — and all otherconscious beings as such — are all in all. Hence, this life of yours... is,in a certain sense, the whole... This, as we know, is what the Brahminsexpress in that sacred, mystic formula... 'Tat tvam asi' — this is you.Or, again, in such words as 'I am in the east and in the west, I ambelow and above, I am this whole world.'Thus you can throw yourself flat on the ground, stretchedout upon Mother Earth, with certain conviction that you
Multiplicity is onlyapparent, in truth, there isonly one mind...
The plurality that weperceive is only anappearance; it is not real.
Inconceiveable as itseems to ordinary reason,you — and all otherconscious beings as such— are all in all.
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are one with her and she with you ... For eternally and always there is only now,one and the same now; the present is the only thing that has no end.
"The Mystic Vision" as translated in Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World's GreatPhysicists (1984) edited by Ken Wilber
Our mind, by virtue of a certain finite, limited capability, is by no means capable of putting aquestion to Nature that permits a continuous series of answers. The observations, the individualresults of measurements, are the answers of Nature to our discontinuous questioning.
As quoted in Schrödinger: Life and Thought (1989) by Walter Moore
What Is Life? (1944)What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell (1944) This work is famous for
introducing the idea of an "aperiodic crystal" that contained genetic information in its
configuration, which inspired James D. Watson to become a geneticist and to work
on the discovery of the genetic role of DNA.
In physics we have dealt hitherto only with periodiccrystals. To a humble physicist's mind, these are very interesting andcomplicated objects; they constitute one of the most fascinating andcomplex material structures by which inanimate nature puzzles his wits.Yet, compared with the aperiodic crystal, they are rather plain and dull.The difference in structure is of the same kind as thatbetween an ordinary wallpaper in which the same patternis repeated again and again in regular periodicity and amasterpiece of embroidery, say a Raphael tapestry, whichshows no dull repetition, but an elaborate, coherent,meaningful design traced by the great master.The laws of physics and chemistry are statistical throughout.
It is these chromosomes ... that contain in some kind of code-script the entire pattern of theindividual's future development and of its functioning in the mature state. Every complete set ofchromosomes contains the full code...
We have just introduced the term gene for the hypothetical material carrier of adefinite hereditary feature...In Darwin's theory, you just have to substitute 'mutations' for his 'slight accidental variations' (just asquantum theory substitutes 'quantum jump' for 'continuous transfer of energy'). In all other respectslittle change was necessary in Darwin's theory...
How would we express in terms of the statistical theory the marvelous faculty of a living organism,by which it delays the decay into thermodynamical equilibrium (death)?... the device by which anorganism maintains itself stationary at a fairly high level of orderliness... really consists in continuallysucking orderliness from its environment.
Science and Humanism (1951)I am born into an environment — I know not whence Icame nor whither I go nor who I am. This is my situation asyours, every single one of you. The fact that everyone always was inthis same situation, and always will be, tells me nothing. Our burningquestion as to the whence and whither — all we canourselves observe about it is the present environment.That is why we are eager to find out about it as much as we can. Thatis science, learning, knowledge; it is the true source of every spiritualendeavour of man. We try to find out as much as we can about thespatial and temporal surroundings of the place in which we find
It is these chromosomes... that contain in some kindof code-script the entirepattern of the individual'sfuture development and ofits functioning in the maturestate.
The isolated knowledgeobtained by a group ofspecialists in a narrow fieldhas in itself no value
Erwin Schrödinger - Wikiquote
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ourselves put by birth…
It seems plain and self-evident, yet it needs to be said:the isolated knowledge obtained by a group of specialistsin a narrow field has in itself no value whatsoever, butonly in its synthesis with all the rest of knowledge andonly inasmuch as it really contributes in this synthesistoward answering the demand, "Who are we?"I consider it extremely doubtful whether the happiness of the human race has been enhanced bythe technical and industrial developments that followed in the wake of rapidly progressing naturalscience.
You may ask — you are bound to ask me now: What, then, is in your opinion the value of naturalscience? I answer: Its scope, aim and value is the same as that of any other branch of humanknowledge. Nay, none of them alone, only the union of all of them, has any scope or value at all,and that is simply enough described: it is to obey the command of the Delphic deity: gnothiseauton... get to know yourself!
Nature and the Greeks (1954)I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the realworld around me is deficient. It gives a lot of factualinformation, puts all our experience in a magnificentlyconsistent order, but it is ghastly silent about all andsundry that is really near to our heart, that really mattersto us. It cannot tell us a word about red and blue, bitter and sweet,physical pain and physical delight; it knows nothing of beautiful andugly, good or bad, God and eternity. Science sometimes pretends toanswer questions in these domains, but the answers are very often sosilly that we are not inclined to take them seriously.
We do not belong to this material world that scienceconstructs for us. We are not in it; we are outside. We areonly spectators. The reason why we believe that we are in it, thatwe belong to the picture, is that our bodies are in the picture. Ourbodies belong to it. Not only my own body, but those of my friends,also of my dog and cat and horse, and of all the other people andanimals. And this is my only means of communicating with them.
Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why andhow an old song can move us to tears.
The observing mind is not a physical system, it cannot interact withany physical system. And it might be better to reserve the term"subject" for the observing mind. ... For the subject, if anything, is thething that senses and thinks. Sensations and thoughts do not belong to the "world ofenergy."The scientific world-picture vouchsafes a very complete understanding of all thathappens — it makes it just a little too understandable. It allows you to imagine the totaldisplay as that of a mechanical clockwork which, for all that science knows, could go on just thesame as it does, without there being consciousness, will, endeavor, pain and delight andresponsibility connected with it — though they actually are. And the reason for this disconcertingsituation is just this: that for the purpose of constructing the picture of the external world, we haveused the greatly simplifying device of cutting our own personality out, removing it; hence it is gone, ithas evaporated, it is ostensibly not needed.
In particular, and most importantly, this is the reason why the scientific worldview contains of itself
whatsoever, but only in itssynthesis with all the rest ofknowledge and onlyinasmuch as it reallycontributes in this synthesistoward answering thedemand, "Who are we?
We do not belong to thismaterial world that scienceconstructs for us. We arenot in it; we are outside. Weare only spectators.
Sensations and thoughtsdo not belong to the "worldof energy."
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no ethical values, no esthetical values, not a word about our own ultimate scope or destination, andno God, if you please. Whence came I and whither go I?
Mind and Matter (1958)The world is given to me only once, not one existing andone perceived. Subject and object are only one. The barrierbetween them cannot be said to have broken down as a result ofrecent experience in the physical sciences, for this barrier does notexist.
If we were bees, ants, or Lacedaemonian warriors, to whom personalfear does not exist and cowardice is the most shameful thing in theworld, warring would go on forever. But luckily we are only men - andcowards.
There is obviously only one alternative, namely the unification of mindsor consciousnesses. Their multiplicity is only apparent, in truth there isonly one mind.
The material world has only been constructed at the price of taking the self, thatis, mind, out of it, removing it; mind is not part of it...Matter and energy seem granular in structure, and so does 'life', but not so mind.Nature has no reverence towards life. Nature treats life as though it were the most valueless thingin the world.... Nature does not act by purposes.
The sensation of colour cannot be accounted for by the physicist's objective picture of light-waves.
My View of the World (1961)Mein Leben, meine Weltansicht [My Life, My Wolrldview or My View of the World] (1961)
This life of yours which you are living is not merely apiece of this entire existence, but in a certain sense thewhole; only this whole is not so constituted that it can besurveyed in one single glance. This, as we know, is what theBrahmins express in that sacred, mystic formula which is yet really sosimple and so clear; tat tvam asi, this is you. Or, again, in suchwords as "I am in the east and the west, I am above and below, I amthis entire world."
There is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousnessin the plural; this is simply something we construct because of thetemporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction... The onlysolution to this conflict insofar as any is available to us at all lies in theancient wisdom of the Upanishad.
Chapter 4
Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happenings areplayed out in one universal consciousness and there is no multiplicityof selves.
Chapter 5
Quotes about SchrödingerHis soft, cheerful speech, his whimsical smile are engaging. AndDubliners are proud to have a Nobel Prize winner living among them.
TIME magazine covering his "What is Life?" lectures at TrinityCollege, Dublin (5 April 1943)
The world is given to meonly once, not one existingand one perceived. Subjectand object are only one.
This life of yours whichyou are living is not merelya piece of this entireexistence, but in a certainsense the whole; only thiswhole is not so constitutedthat it can be surveyed inone single glance.
Vedanta teaches that
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Erwin Schrödinger
You are the only contemporary physicist, besides Laue, who sees thatone cannot get around the assumption of reality — if only one ishonest. Most of them simply do not see what sort of risky game theyare playing with reality — reality as something independent of what isexperimentally established. Their interpretation is, however, refutedmost elegantly by your system of radioactive atom + amplifier + charge of gun powder + cat in abox, in which the psi-function of the system contains both the cat alive and blown to bits. Nobodyreally doubts that the presence or absence of the cat is something independent of the act ofobservation.
Albert Einstein in a letter to Schrödinger (1950)
The unity and continuity of Vedanta are reflected in the unity and continuity of wave mechanics. In1925, the world view of physics was a model of a great machine composed of separable interactingmaterial particles. During the next few years, Schrodinger and Heisenberg and their followerscreated a universe based on super imposed inseparable waves of probability amplitudes. This newview would be entirely consistent with the Vedantic concept of All in One.
Walter J. Moore in Schrödinger: Life and Thought (1989) ISBN 0521437679
Like Schopenhauer, he accepted an hierarchical view of our understanding of the world, withphilosophy above and physics below.
Walter J. Moore in Schrödinger: Life and Thought (1989) ISBN 0521437679
He rejected traditional religious beliefs (Jewish, Christian, and Islamic) not on the basis of anyreasoned argument, nor even with an expression of emotional antipathy, for he loved to usereligious expressions and metaphors, but simply by saying that they are naive.
Walter J. Moore in Schrödinger: Life and Thought (1989) ISBN 0521437679
External linksErwin Schrödinger biography at the official Nobelprize site.Brief biography of Erwin Schrödinger by J JO'Connor and E F Robertson at the University of StAndrewsWeb exhibit at the Austrian Central Library for PhysicsErwin Schrödinger brief biographyInto the Cool (2005) by Eric D. Schneider and Dorion Sagan, Part I, Chapter 1 The SchrödingerParadoxIndian influences on Quantum Dynamics by Dr. C. P. Girija Vallabhan; on Schrödinger's interest inVedanta philosophy.
Categories: Physicists | Nobel Prize winners | Austrians | 1960s deaths
consciousness is singular,all happenings are playedout in one universalconsciousness and there isno multiplicity of selves.
