Albert Schweitzer: A Biography
Nils Ole Oermann
Abstract
Nils Ole Oermann vividly describes the many-sided life of Albert Schweitzer (1975–1965), who achieved world renown through his selfless work as a doctor in the African jungle and as a pioneer of an ethical principle, Reverence for Life, that crosses all cultures and religions. This biography provides a fresh look at one the greatest icons of the twentieth century, from theologian and philosopher to musician and physician, husband, writer, and political activist. Though a mediocre student, he wrote a major theological work, The Quest of the Historical Jesus, and a path-breaking study of Johanne ... More
Nils Ole Oermann vividly describes the many-sided life of Albert Schweitzer (1975–1965), who achieved world renown through his selfless work as a doctor in the African jungle and as a pioneer of an ethical principle, Reverence for Life, that crosses all cultures and religions. This biography provides a fresh look at one the greatest icons of the twentieth century, from theologian and philosopher to musician and physician, husband, writer, and political activist. Though a mediocre student, he wrote a major theological work, The Quest of the Historical Jesus, and a path-breaking study of Johannes Sebastian Bach. But it was his ethical worldview of Reverence for Life, explored in three volumes on the philosophy of civilization, that was to be his most important intellectual achievement. His life’s work, an embodiment of the principle of Reverence for Life, was the hospital that, together with his wife, Helene, he built up in Lambarene, Gabon. Though he was revered in many quarters, he was also criticized for his paternalistic treatment of the indigenous people of Africa. Following the award of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1953, Schweitzer became a key voice in the nuclear debate, speaking out against the dangers of nuclear weapons. What Schweitzer tried to do was to live by the universal principle of Reverence for Life. And this was for him more important even than his hospital.
Keywords:
Reverence for Life,
Nobel Peace Prize,
philosophy of civilization,
historical Jesus,
Lambarene,
Helene Bresslau,
universal genius,
theological mysticism,
charges of racism,
cold war
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2016 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198784227 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: November 2016 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198784227.001.0001 |
