Albert Einstein: Let us not forget that human knowledge and skills alone cannot lead humanity to a happy and dignified life

Albert Einstein: The Human Side (1979)

Knowledge, Skills, attitudes, and values

Our time is distinguished by wonderful achievements in the fields of scientific understanding and the technical application of those insights. Who would not be cheered by this? But let us not forget that human knowledge and skills alone cannot lead humanity to a happy and dignified life. Humanity has every reason to place the proclaimers of high moral standards and values above the discoverers of objective truth.

What humanity owes to personalities like Buddha, Moses, and Jesus ranks for me higher than all the achievements of the enquiring and constructive mind.
What these blessed men have given us we must guard and try to keep alive with all our strength if humanity is not to lose its dignity, the security of its existence, and its joy in living.

What does it mean to be human? That question sits at the core of human rights. To be human has specific implications: human self-awareness and the actions taken to uphold human dignity – are what gives the concept of humanity a special meaning.

Human self-awareness and human actions determine the interplay between individual thought and language and the wider society. It is our actions as humans that deliver economic security, the right to education, the right to free association and free expression; and which create the conditions for protecting expression and encouraging bold thinking. When we abandon efforts to uphold human dignity, we forfeit the essential meaning of being human, and when we waver in our commitment to the idea of human rights, we abandon our moral principles. What follows is duplicity and folly, corruption and tyranny, and the endless stream of humanitarian crises that we see in the world today.

In order for us to work in the defense of human rights and towards a deeper understanding of human rights issues, we need knowledge and understanding of certain issues and certain key skills. We also need to develop and practice appropriate attitudes and values.

In terms of knowledge, we need to develop an understanding of the main concepts and the historical development of human rights, as well as the standards demanded by the main instruments and mechanisms for human rights protection. This means knowing about one’s own rights and the way one interacts with other people, as well as knowing how to defend human rights.

In terms of skills, we need to be able to communicate and advocate for human rights in public and private, to be able to assess cases from a human rights standpoint and reflect on what constitutes an abuse of human rights. Other important skills include dealing with conflict and learning to transform it in a constructive manner and participating actively and constructively in the community.

In terms of attitudes and values, we need to develop motivation and a commitment to the protection of human dignity; empathy and solidarity for others; and a sense of justice and responsibility for our own actions and those of others.

Harvard research says these are the seven things to do to be happy

If we truly believe in values that we can all identify with and aspire to – a recognition of truth, an understanding of science, an appreciation of the self, a respect for life, and faith in society – then we need to eliminate obstacles to understanding, uphold the fundamental definition of humanity, affirm the shared value of human lives and other lives, and acknowledge the symbiotic interdependency of human beings and the environment. A belief in ourselves and a belief in others, a trust in humanitarianism’s power to do good, and an earnest recognition of the value of life – form the foundation for all human values and all human efforts.

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