Definition Reverence for Life
But mere consciousness cannot build civilization. Ultimately, one must act – and act with ethical reverence in the case of respect for life: Schweitzer`s ethical approach may seem closer to the ethics of virtue than to the ethics of behavior, but respect for life is not a virtue. It is above all an attitude of reactivity to other living beings and to values in general. Schweitzer`s theory is not hedonistic, as it focuses on respect for life, but it is difficult to say whether this theory is monistic or pluralistic. To illustrate this, consider the following question: Why do you believe that respect for life is a moral value? Faced with this dilemma of the will to live, like all living beings, a person is constantly forced to preserve his own life and his life in general only to the detriment of the other life. When he has been touched by the ethics of respect for life, he hurts and destroys life only under a need he cannot avoid, and never out of carelessness. After this short presentation, Schweitzer describes six defining characteristics of the ethics of respect for life. First, this ethics is rational because it is developed as a result of a reflection on life. Second, this ethic is absolute, in the sense that it is juxtaposed with what is achievable and achievable.
Third, the ethics of respect for life is universal in the sense that it applies to all living beings: „Under no circumstances can we say of life: `It has no value.`“ Fourth, the ethics of respect for life has spiritual significance in that it seeks to achieve harmony with the mysterious spirit of the universe. This harmony can be achieved by the community of life, not by the community of thoughts, that is, by serving this spirit of the universe instead of understanding it. Fifth, the ethic of respect for life is natural in the sense that Hume claims that sympathy is natural. Sixth, Schweitzer argues that this sympathy, which underlies respect for life, is part of our psychological state. With the help of several examples, he tries to show that animals also show the rudiments of this sympathy. However, this natural disposition must develop in the direction of the highest spirituality. This realization influenced her throughout her life, carefully and carefully picking up a spider from a hole she had fallen into before planting a crop to feed her patients and their families, who also worked on the hospital farm. He wrote that just as our own existence matters to each of us, „the existence [of a creature] matters to them.“ [8] He wrote that „. my relationship with my own being and with the objective world is determined by respect for life.
This respect for life is given as part of my will to live. and this will to live existed in all creatures and had to be respected. [9] Daily contemplation and devotion to the miracle of life – considering that every archeae, protist, fungus, bacteria, plant and animal is as glorious as an entire galaxy of stars alone – will ultimately guide you on your daily path of reverence for life. Now let`s take a look at the central ideas of Schweitzer`s moral philosophy. In his most important philosophical book, The Philosophy of Civilization (1923), Schweitzer introduced the ethics of respect for life in three stages. He first prepared the ground by arguing against Descartes: in 1915, during a 200-kilometre steamboat trip to Africa, he was inspired by a new concept, The Reverence for Life. This sentence would be the description of his future philosophy of life. „For as long as I can remember,“ he says, „I have been saddened by the extent of the misery I have seen in the world around me.“ For Schweitzer, this was not limited to humans, but also to wildlife. „The sight of an old lame horse pulled forward by a man while another beat him with a stick to take him to the cracker`s yard in Colmar haunted me for weeks.“ In 1905, Schweitzer made a radical career change and decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the indigenous peoples of equatorial Africa.
He decided that he would study to become a doctor of medicine and returned to university. In 1909, Schweitzer formulated international regulations for organ construction. In 1913, Schweitzer received his doctorate in medicine. The task of this article is as follows: Schweitzer argues that respect for life is the basic ethical principle and the highest moral value. After a brief account of Schweitzer`s life and moral philosophy, I will consider two questions: 1. Can Schweitzer show that respect for life is the highest moral value (principle)? 2. Is respect for life even a moral value (principle)? I will argue that Schweitzer`s position is defensible with some purpose. It has been more than several decades since his death, and if we look at what is happening in the political arena of the United States; In regions of the world torn apart by war and constant conflict that seem to be an integral part of the human psyche, it may be time to listen again to what this brilliant and gentle man had to say throughout his life.
All this becomes even more complicated when we remember the double aspect of respect for life: the right thing is to preserve and promote life. To preserve one life, it may be necessary to kill another. But can`t it also be necessary to kill another life to improve the life we prefer? Or is the necessity only in relation to the negative aspect of respect for life? Be that as it may, when deciding whether evil and murder are necessary, doesn`t Schweitzer ultimately have to resort to these pragmatic and utilitarian criteria that he rejects when he defends the universality of his ethics? Ethics consists of . in my experience, the compulsion to show any will – [u1] to live the same respect I do for mine. There we gave ourselves this fundamental principle of morality, which is a necessity of thought. It is good to support and promote life; it is wrong to destroy or hinder lives. [3] Schweitzer not only acknowledges the problem, but also proposes a solution that he believes will only strengthen his position. Usually, we accept that we have to compromise and sacrifice.
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