The Ethics of Reverence for Life

Document Type : Original Research

Author
Jaafar Fallahi
Assistance professor, department of religions and mysticism, faculty of humanities, University of Semnan, Semnan, Iran.
10.30497/prr.2018.2119
Abstract
Ethics of reverence for life – presented by Albert Schweitzer - advocates any kind of life be it human or not. Arthur Schopenhauer believes that one has to deny life and resign from him. In this essay the relation between ethics of reverence for life and Schopenhauer’s thoughts is investigated. Reverence for life is based on the will to live and methodologically on particular and concrete experiences, which shows the similarity between its metaphysical bases of the ethics and that of Schopenhauer’s thoughts. Albert Schweitzer, However, by rereading Schopenhauer’s notions of the will to live and resignation and by emphasis on will to love, unlike Schopenhauer, leads to life affirmation and reverence for life. Schweitzer’s special kind of theological motivations could be seen here. The two thinkers are different in normative ethics. On one hand, the effect of Schweitzer’s Christian ground on his ethics of reverence for life is visible, and on the other hand, the effect of Schopenhauer’s psychological background with his mother on his pessimistic worldview and consequently on life denial is undeniable.
Keywords
Ethics of Reverence for Life
Arthur Schopenhauer
Christianity
Albert Schweitzer
Anthropological Theology
تنر، مایکل. 1389. آرتور شوپنهاور. ترجمۀ خشایار دیهیمی. تهران: ماهی.
دانیل، آنیتا. 1374. حماسۀ آلبرت شوایتزر. ترجمۀ حبیبه فیوضات. تهران: علمی و فرهنگی.
شوایتسر، آلبرت. 1347. شوایتزر در قلب سیاهان. ترجمۀ علمیرا شادی. بی‌جا: بی‌نا.
شوپنهاور، آرتور. 1388. جهان همچون اراده و تصور. ترجمۀ رضا ولی‌یاری. تهران: مرکز.
علیزمانی، امیرعباس. 1386. «معنای معنای زندگی». نامه حکمت، ش 28.
کیوپیت، دان. 1380. دریای ایمان. ترجمۀ حسن کامشاد. تهران: طرح نو.
مک‌کواری، جان. 1378. تفکر دینی در قرن بیستم (مرزهای فلسفه و دین 1900-1980). ترجمۀ بهزاد سالکی. تهران: امیرکبیر.
مگی، برایان. 1393. فلسفۀ شوپنهاور. ترجمۀ رضا ولی‌یاری. تهران: مرکز.
Barsam, Ara Paul. 2008. Reverence for Life: Albert Schweitzer’s Great Contribution to Ethical Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cicovacki, predrag (ed.). 2009. Albert Schweitzer’s Ethical Vision: A Sourcebook. Oxford.
Schweitzer, Albert. 1990. Out of My Life and Thought. translated by Antje Bultmann Lemke. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Schweitzer, Albert. 2009. ‘Schopenhauer and Nietzsche’s Quest for Elementary Ethics.’ in Albert Schweitzer’s Ethical Vision: A Sourcebook. Cicovacki, predrag (ed.). Oxford, pp. 123- 134.
Schweitzer, Albert. 1936. ‘The Ethics of Reverence for Life.’ Christendom 1/2: 225-239.
Schweitzer, Albert. 1987. The Philosophy of Civilization. translated by C. T. Campion, New York: Prometheus Books.
Schweitzer, Albert. 1996. The Quest of the Historical Jesus. translated by W. Montgomery. London: SCM Press.
Wilson, John E. Introduction to Modern Theology: Trajectories in the German Tradition. Westminster: John Knox Press.
Philosophy of Religion Research
Volume 15, Issue 2 - Serial Number 30
November 2018
Pages 143-165