In 1945, Albert Einstein said after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, everything has changed except our modes of thinking. Here we are in 2022, and Vladimir Putin is threatening the use of atomic weapons—tactical–smaller-yet still nuclear. But we don’t even know that, as Russia has nuclear capability that would be catastrophic. And the United States does, as well.

What did Einstein mean when he said “modes of thinking?” I wrote my interpretation of Einstein’s thinking years ago in a book, The Art of Teaching Science. It’s as follows:

In May 1946, in a fund raising letter for the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, Einstein wrote this. “The unleashed power of the atom as changed everything save or modes of thinking. And thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.”[i] With the advent of war science and technology whose consequences could be as dire for the victor as for the vanquished, Einstein realized the increasing importance of thinking from a global as well as a local perspective, and of considering the long-term consequences of political or military decisions on the fragile ecosystem of the Earth.  It could be inferred that what Einstein was calling for was a move toward “systems thinking.” Or toward an ability to predict the consequences of altering any sub-part of a system on the functioning of the whole.  This kind of thinking about complex issues implies an ability to view a problem from multiple perspectives and to predict the consequences.

Jack Hassard and Michael Dias, (2009). The Art of Teaching Science, New York: Routledge, p. 53.

Ukraine

Our thinking has not changed. The world has built weapons of mass destruction as well as convention weapons. Russia invaded Ukraine without any provocation. Russia surrounded Ukraine with more than 170,000 troops and literally tons of weapons. For three weeks now, Putin’s army has destroyed the infrastructure of many of Ukraines cities, killing thousands of Ukrainians, including children. At the same time, Putin’s governmental controlled media spouts lies about the invasion, claiming that they are there to rid Ukraine of neo-nazis and right wing groups which control the country, killing Russians who live in Ukraine.

I’ve been to Russia many times and to Ukraine once. Not all Russians believe what they hear on State controlled media. Thousands braved Russian police and demonstrated against the way. Thousands are in jail. However, for many Russians the only source of information they trust is from state media. Some of my friends believe what they hear, even when given contravening evidence.

We still believe that competition outweighs cooperation and collaboration. We still think that the way to deal with people who are different from us and who have different goals is to consider them “others” or indeed, enemies.

Martin Luther King

In the present situation in Ukraine, the solution is not more weapons and fighter jets, but more talk, more collaboration at the table. Martin Luther King said “mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.”

Years ago at a 1965 annual Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he called for a halt to the bombing in North Vietnam. He urged that the United Nations be empowered to mediate the conflict, and told the crowd that “what is required is a small first step that may establish a new spirit of mutual confidence … a step capable of breaking the cycle of mistrust, violence and war.” [2]

This is what is needed at this time. The people in Ukraine are suffering. More than 3 million Ukrainians are now refugees caused by the invasion of its country by Russia. It is nothing but horror for people in Ukraine, and the world has a responsibility to stop the war. More arms will only result in more deaths.

Dr. King and Dr. Einstein believed that humankind has a responsibility to think differently, to change our mode of thinking. Can we do this?

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[i] Cited in Holt, R.D. (1984). “Can Psychology Meet Einstein’s Challenge?” Political Psychology, 5, 199-225.

[2] Vietnam War. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. (2019, November 12). Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/vietnam-war