The moral of Gandhi's life and death is that pacifism as a political program is much more difficult to sustain than pacifism as a personal ethic. Bei… - Freeman Dyson

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The moral of Gandhi's life and death is that pacifism as a political program is much more difficult to sustain than pacifism as a personal ethic. Being himself a leader of extraordinary charisma and skill, Gandhi was able to organize a whole people around a program of pacifism. He proved that a pacifist resistance movement can be sustained for thirty years and can be strong enough to defeat an empire. The subsequent history of India proved that political pacifism was not strong enough to survive the death of its leader and to withstand the temptations of power.

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About Freeman Dyson

Freeman John Dyson (15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020) was an English-born American physicist, mathematician, and futurist, famous for his work in quantum mechanics, nuclear weapons design and policy, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. He was the winner of the Templeton Prize in the year 2000.

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Birth Name: Freeman John Dyson
Alternative Names: Freeman J. Dyson
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He aquí cómo describía la situación el propio Einstein: Cuando estaba en el séptimo grado en el Luitpold Gymnasium de Múnich, fui convocado por mi tutor, que me expresó el deseo de que yo abandonara el centro. Al decirle yo que no había hecho nada malo, se limitó a contestar: «Su mera presencia hace que la clase me pierda el respeto». Einstein se alegró de poder ayudar al profesor.

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Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features. They share these features also with other enterprises such as art, literature and music. The most salient features of all these enterprises are discipline and diversity. Discipline to submerge the individual fantasy in a greater whole. Diversity to give scope to the infinite variety of human souls and temperaments. Without discipline there can be no greatness. Without diversity there can be no freedom. Greatness for the enterprise, freedom for the individual — these are the two themes, contrasting but not incompatible, that make up the history of science and the history of religion.

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