Albert Schweitzer’s Ethical Vision A Sourcebook This page intentionally left blank Albert Schweitzer’s Ethical Vision A Sourcebook edited by predrag cicovacki 3 2009 3 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi K uala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offi ces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore S outh Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2009 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All essays reprinted with permission of Rhena Schweitzer Miller. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schweitzer, Albert, 1875–1965. [Essays. English. Selections] Albert Schweitzer’s ethical vision : a sourcebook / edited by Predrag Cicovacki. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-537788-0; 978-0-19-537789-7 (pbk.) 1. Ethics. I. Cicovacki, Predrag. II. Title. B2430.S374A25 2009 170—dc22 2008025761 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Contents Introduction , 3 Part I A Foundation of the Ethics of Reverence for Life: Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy of Civilization 1. Western and Indian Thought , 33 2. The Historical Jesus , 45 3. The Kingdom of God , 55 4. Religion in Modern Civilization , 75 5. The Decay of Civilization, 85 Part II The Ethics of Reverence for Life 6. Civilization and Ethics , 103 7. The Optimistic Worldview in Kant , 115 8. Schopenhauer and Nietzsche’s Quest for Elementary Ethics , 123 9. Reverence for Life , 135 10. The Ethics of Reverence for Life , 153 11. The Problem of Ethics in the Evolution of Human Thought , 165 vi contents Part III “My Life Is My Argument”: The Application of the Ethics of Reverence for Life 12. Bach and Aesthetics , 179 13. Goethe the Philosopher , 193 14. Gandhi and the Force of Nonviolence , 209 15. The Problem of Peace in the World of Today , 217 16. My Life Is My Argument , 229 Chronology , 243 Bibliography, 247 Index , 251 Albert Schweitzer’s Ethical Vision A Sourcebook This page intentionally left blank Introduction I have given up the ambition to become a great scholar, I want to be more— simply a human. —Albert Schweitzer I. Schweitzer’s Life A narrow path leads uphill from the village of Gunsbach, into the thick woods. After a fi ve-minute climb, one comes to a clearing with a huge rock and a beautiful view of the Munster valley beneath. This place was Albert Schweitzer’s favorite spot. Since 1969, next to the rock, there rises a monument in honor of Schweitzer. Built out of Alsatian sandstone, the monument is the work of Fritz Behn, a disciple of Auguste Rodin. The monument is located at this hidden spot, rather than in front of Schweitzer’s house, because he wanted it that way: “It is there I should like to remain in stone, so that my friends could pay me a visit, devote a thought to me, and could listen to the murmur of the river, the music that accompanied the fl ux of my thoughts. It is on this rock that civilization and ethics was born and the Jesus in his epoch emerged to me. There I feel completely at home.”1 1. Quoted from the Web site of the Albert Schweitzer Museum in Gunsbach, France: www. schweit zer.org/english/assoc/asegun.htm.