An approach to Copenhagen - Eckerd College



An approach to Copenhagen

Brian MacHarg

QFM Fall 2008

Consider questions of war

1. What is the role of the scientist in a time of war?

2. Is it the scientist's duty to use the results of the most recent and significant research to help to protect his or her homeland, even if it means the destruction of thousands of lives? Or does a scientist have a moral obligation to use his research to improve life on this planet?

3. Who made the better decision between Bohr and Heisenberg? Was it Bohr, when he helped create the atom bomb, thus saving the world from several cruel dictators, despite the cost to Japan? Or did Heisenberg make a better moral decision, if in fact he did thwart the creation of an atomic bomb and thus disallowed the Nazis the upper hand in World War II?

4. Can one even talk in terms of morality when the discussion of war is raised? Or do all morals go out the window in times of dire circumstances such as a war?

5. Is Heisenberg in any different situation than the Nazi soldier who is ordered to kill Jews?

6. Do you suppose that the creation of the bomb would make Bohr, Heisenberg, Fermi and others more militant or less so?

Consider the role of friendship in Copenhagen

1. Where does loyalty come into play in the play?

2. How can ethical or political differences strain a friendship?

3. What ethical issues, if any, are worth sacrificing friendship for? What ethics, if any, are worth sacrificing for friendship?

Consider the role of fate in the play

1. What the world be like if Heisenberg had created the bomb and given it to the Nazis? What if Bohr had been captured by the Nazis? Or if the Nazis accepted theoretical physics to a greater degree or had been about 10 years ahead with their physics? Frayn invites us subtly to consider fate. What role, if any, do you think fate had in unfolding or preventing these events?

Consider Copenhagen as a literary work

1. Frayn repeats the mention of Elsinore and the deaths of Christian and Harald

Bohr. Why does he do this and how does it contribute to the themes of the play?

2. Frayn studied philosophy and worked as a journalist, but he is not a physicist. How does his background influence the questions he has his characters ask about human nature?

3. The play is based on real incidents and real people. How does the dramatization of historical figures help illuminate the history?

4. In 1999 Michael Frayn was invited to speak to physicists at a conference at the Niels Bohr Institute because of Copenhagen. How does the play help an audience understand the physics?

5. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle serves a metaphorical and structural function in the play. How does Frayn use the concept of uncertainty throughout the play?

Consider general questions

1. Why do we read this book in QFM?

2. How would Singer read Frayn?

3. Imagine that you were teaching this book or performing this play to a group of 7th graders. You might need to simplify some things. What ideas and themes would be critical to convey? What aspects could you drop, if any?

4. Imagine that M. Frayn contacted you because he wanted to dramatically re-work Copenhagen. He wants to keep the important ideas of the book but change the setting and time. How might this play be adapted to, say, 21st Century urban Detroit, 16th Century France, Eckerd College or Bronze Age Egypt?

5. We will later read in QFM how Dr. Paul Farmer, himself a scientist, uses his knowledge in very different areas. With a bit of summary of Dr. Farmer’s work, how do you think he would react to decisions made by Drs. Bohr and Heisenberg?

Some questions here drawn from:



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