- Strasbourg University
- Tubingen University
Peace Prize of the German Booksellers (1951)
Nobel Peace Prize (1952)
Medal of Paracelsus (1952)
SEP Grand Gold Medal (1959)
Sonning Award (1959)
Biography
Schweitzer was born in Kaysersberg (Upper Alsace, which belonged to Germany in those years; now - the territory of France), in the family of a poor Lutheran pastor Louis Schweitzer and his wife Adele, nee Schillinger, also the pastor's daughter. On the paternal side, he was a cousin of J.-P. Sartre.
In April 1957, Schweitzer delivered an Appeal to Humanity, urging governments to stop testing nuclear weapons. In May 1957, Elena Breslau, the wife and colleague of Albert Schweitzer, dies.
Schweitzer the Philosopher
According to Schweitzer, the moral content of culture is its core, its supporting structure. Therefore, "ethical progress is essential and undoubted, while material progress is less essential and less undoubted in the development of culture." The discrepancy in the pace of development of the spiritual and material spheres of culture, according to Schweitzer, is a real contradiction, which is one of the driving forces of its progress. But the nature of the development of culture is negatively affected not only by the absolutization of its material side by society. The prevalence of the spiritual sphere in Indian and Chinese cultures for a long time hampered the progress of their material side. Schweitzer advocated the harmonious development of all aspects, all spheres of culture, with the indispensable primacy of its moral side. That is why the thinker himself called his concept of culture moralistic.
According to Schweitzer, the deepest crisis in which modern Western culture has found itself and continues to be in general cannot be successfully overcome and humanity will not be able not only to stop decadence, but also to achieve a complete spiritual “recovery” (revival) until the human "I" is not aware of itself and will not begin to act everywhere and in everything as "life willing to live in the midst of life."
Schweitzer the humanist
Living such a sacrificial life, he never reproached anyone. On the contrary, he was very sorry for people who, due to circumstances, cannot devote their lives to others. And he always urged those to take advantage of every opportunity to do good. “There is no person who does not have the opportunity to give himself to people and thereby show his human essence. Anyone who uses every opportunity to be human can save his life by doing something for those who need help - no matter how modest his activity may be. Schweitzer believed that a person has no right to judge anyone but himself, and the only thing he can preach is his way of life.
Compositions
| Albert Schweitzer at Wikiquote | |
| Albert Schweitzer at Wikimedia Commons | |
| Albert Schweitzer at Wikinews |
- "Kant's Philosophy of Religion" (1899; dissertation),
- "The problem of the Last Supper, an analysis based on scientific research nineteenth century and on historical records" (1901),
- The mystery of messianism and passions. Essay on the Life of Jesus (1901),
- "AND. S. Bach - musician and poet "and" Johann Sebastian Bach "(first edition - J.S. Bach, musicien-poète, on French in 1905; second expanded edition by Johann Sebastian Bach, in German in 1908),
- "From Reimarus to Wrede" and "History of the study of the life of Jesus" (first edition - Von Reimarus zu Wrede in 1906; second edition - Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschuung in 1913),
- "Psychiatric Evaluation of the Personality of Jesus" (Die psychiatrische Beurteilung Jesu, 1913, dissertation),
- "Between water and virgin forest" (Zwischen Wasser und Urwald, 1921),
- "From my childhood and youth" (Aus meiner Kindheit und Jugendzeit, 1924),
- The Decline and Rebirth of Culture. Philosophy of culture. Part I." (Verfall und Wiederaufbau der Kultur. Kulturphilosophie. Erster Teil, 1923),
- “Culture and ethics. Philosophy of culture. Part II." (Kultur und Ethik. Kulturphilosophie. Zweiter Teil, 1923),
- "Christianity and World Religions" (Das Christentum und die Weltreligionen, 1924),
- "Letters from Lambarene" (1925-1927),
- "The Building Art of German and French Organs" (Deutsche und französische Orgelbaukunst und Orgelkunst, 1927),
- "The Attitude of Whites to Colored Races" (1928),
- "Mysticism of the Apostle Paul" (Die Mystik des Apostels Paulus; 1930),
- "From my life and my thoughts" (Aus meinem Leben und Denken; autobiography; 1931),
- The worldview of Indian thinkers. Mysticism and ethics "(Die Weltanschauung der indischen Denker. Mystik und Ethik; 1935),
- "On the Condition of Our Culture" (1947),
- "Philosophy and the Animal Protection Movement" (1950),
- "The idea of the Kingdom of God in the era of the transformation of eschatological faith into non-eschatological" (1953),
- "The problem of ethics in the course of the development of human thought". (1954-1955)
- "African stories" (Afrikanische Geschichten, 1955),
- "Peace or atomic war" (Peace or atomic war, 1958),
- "Humanity" (1961, published 1966)
- Reflections on the Philosophy of Lao Tzu. Fragments from various works.
Schweitzer Albert (1875 - 1965)
German theologian, philosopher, musician and physician. Born in Kaysersberg (Upper Alsace, in those years the territory of Germany) in the family of a poor Lutheran pastor. He spent his childhood in the village of Günsbach in the Münster valley (near Colmar), from an early age he learned to play the organ, attended a real school in Münster, a gymnasium in Mühlhausen.
In 1883 he entered the University of Strasbourg, where he attended lectures by V. Windelband. After graduating from the university, he defended dissertations for the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and a licentiate of theology. During his studies, he regularly traveled to Paris, where he took organ and piano lessons. He was fond of music by I.S. Bach and R. Wagner. He played the organs in Berlin, Paris and other European cities.
In 1902 he was appointed assistant parish pastor in Strasbourg, headed the St. Thomas. He was engaged in teaching activities, lectured on Schopenhauer, Hartmann, Sudermann, Goethe, Nietzsche and other thinkers. Published in French the work “J.S. Bach is a musician and poet. This book, as well as The History of the Study of the Life of Jesus, made him widely known.
When Schweitzer reached the age of 30, he was a famous theologian, teacher and preacher, a recognized expert on I.S. Bach and organ building. However, he left his hobbies and began to study medicine. For many years, his slogan was: "First I must cure people, and only then carry the word of God to them." After graduating from the course at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Strasbourg (1905-1912), Schweitzer received a doctorate in medicine and, having collected minimal funds for the organization of a sanitary station, went to Africa. In 1913, he managed to establish a hospital in the village of Lambarene on the Ogove River in the French colony of Gabon.
In 1918 - after the transfer of Alsace and Lorraine to the French state - Schweitzer accepted French citizenship. In 1923, the book “Culture and Ethics”, begun in Gabon, was published.
Among other works - "The Decline and Revival of Culture", "Philosophy of Culture", "Mysticism of the Apostle Paul", Schweitzer's autobiography "From My Life and My Thoughts", "Worldview of Indian Thinkers", "Mysticism and Ethics".
In February 1924, the thinker again went to Africa. The completely destroyed hospital had to be rebuilt in another place, but this time Schweitzer had more volunteers. By 1927, a new hospital was built, which could receive a much larger number of patients.
Despite the hardships of wartime, the Schweitzer Hospital survived the Second World War, continuing to operate as before. In the 50s. the thinker began to enjoy truly world fame - they called him by his name. educational establishments, streets and even ships. In 1953, Schweitzer won the Nobel Peace Prize, and with the funds received, he built a village for lepers near Lambarene.
In 1957, he delivered an "Appeal to Humanity", calling on governments to stop testing nuclear weapons, and in the future he did not stop reminding about the atomic threat. After Schweitzer left for Lambarene for good in 1959, the hospital town became a place of pilgrimage for many people from all over the world. Died 1965
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) occupies in the culture of the XX century. a special place - it belongs simultaneously to the intellectual-philosophical tradition and the tradition of social and moral reformism. It seems to return us to the times of the ancient sages and prophets, when the spiritual foundations of civilizations were laid, when the word merged with the deed, knowledge was perceived in its morally binding meaning, a worthy lifestyle was considered as a continuation of the correct way of thinking. The main attention of A. Schweitzer is directed to the criticism of the value foundations of modern European culture. He believed that European culture had lost its meaning, purpose, went down a false, disastrous path, and he saw his task in giving it new spiritual and moral perspectives. In this desire to stop the disastrous development of mankind, to return it to its pure religious and moral origins, Schweitzer was rare, but not alone; he was among such people as L.N. Tolstoy, M. Gandhi, M-L. King.
A. Schweitzer developed various theological and philosophical problems. He owns such fundamental works as "From Reimarus to Wrede. History of research on the life of Jesus" (Von Reimaarus zu Wrede-Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung. 1906);
"The Mysticism of the Apostle Paul" (Die Mystik des Apostels Paulus. Tubingen, 1930); "Worldview of Indian Thinkers. Mysticism and Ethics" (Die Weltanschauung der indischen Denker. Mystik und Ethik, 1935). The thinker saw his main work in the comprehensive substantiation of the New Teaching of Life, which he called the ethics of reverence for life. Most of the works of A. Schweitzer are devoted to this, the central place among which is occupied by the Philosophy of Culture, which consists of two parts: The Decline and Revival of Culture (Verfall und Wiederaufbau der Kultur. Kulturphilosophie. Erster Teil, 1923); "Culture and Ethics" (Kultur und Ethik. Kulturphilosophie. Zweiter Teil, 1923).
The teachings and biography of Schweitzer are inextricably linked. He sought to give his life the dignity of an ethical argument and to embody the ideal of humanity that he theoretically substantiated.
Albert Schweitzer was born in 1875 as the second child of the priest Ludwig Schweitzer in the small town of Kaiserberg in Upper Alsace. His mother was also the daughter of a priest. Soon after the birth of his son, the family moved to the nearby town of Günsbach, where, according to Schweitzer, he, along with his three sisters and brother, happily spent their youth. He grew up in modest prosperity, in the care of loving, albeit strict, parents. Albert was distinguished by moral impressionability and willpower.
The life of Albert Schweitzer continued to develop quite well. He early revealed various talents, which, combined with the Protestant virtues acquired in the course of family education - hard work, perseverance and methodicalness - predetermined a successful career. He graduated from the gymnasium, then the University of Strasbourg, where he studied theology and philosophy. He continued his studies in philosophy and music in Paris. By the age of 30, Albert Schweitzer was already a recognized theologian, a promising philosopher, organist, organ builder, and musicologist. His book on Bach brought him European fame. He was successful in his service and had a wide circle of friends. On the way to the heights of glory, he decides to change everything at once: Europe - for Africa, professional work - for serving the suffering, the field of a scientist and musician - for a modest share of a doctor, a clear prosperous future - for an uncertain life prospect, fraught with incredible difficulties and unpredictable dangers. Why did he do this? Neither Schweitzer himself nor his researchers were able to answer this question in any convincing way.
Let us first consider the factual side of the matter. Here is how Schweitzer himself describes the history of this decision that stretched over many years: “One sunny summer morning, when - and this was in 1896 - I woke up in Günsbach during the holidays on Trinity Day, the thought came to my mind that I did not dare to take this happiness for granted, but must repay it somehow.Thinking about this, while still in bed, while the birds were singing outside the window, I came to the conclusion that it would be justified to live up to thirty years for the sake of the sciences and arts, in order to then devote himself to the direct service of man. The question of what and how he would specifically do after thirty years, Schweitzer then left open, trusting the circumstances. Years passed, approaching the designated milestone. And one day, in the autumn of 1904, he saw on his desk among the mail a green pamphlet of the annual report of the Paris Missionary Society. Putting it aside to get to work, he suddenly lingered on the article "What is the mission in the Congo in dire need of?" and began to read. It contained a complaint about the lack of people with medical education for missionary work in Gabon, the northern province of the Congo, and an appeal for help. "Having finished reading," recalls Schweitzer, "I calmly set to work. The search was over." However, another year passed before he announced his decision to family and friends (before that, he shared his thoughts with only one unnamed close friend). It was a year of reflection, weighing one's strengths and capabilities, a strict rational check of intentions for feasibility. And he came to the conclusion that he was capable of carrying out the planned work, that for this he had enough health, energy, endurance, common sense, and in case of failure, the resilience to survive the collapse. Now it only remained to legalize the decision. On October 13, 1905, while in Paris, he dropped letters into the mailbox, in one of which he resigned from his duties as head of the Seminary of St. Thomas in Strasbourg, and in the rest he informed his parents and closest acquaintances that, starting from the winter semester, he was becoming a student at the Faculty of Medicine and intended to go as a doctor to Equatorial Africa after graduation. It is noteworthy that the Schweitzer three-stage decision-making model reproduces the scheme identified by Aristotle moral choice: a) general value orientation of the will; b) a specific intention, consisting in the rational calculation of opposing motives, the choice of means; c) decision.
Schweitzer's decision caused quite a stir among family and friends. Perplexity and misunderstanding turned into active opposition. But no emotional assessments and prudent arguments could shake him. After all, the decision was not the beginning, but the result of almost ten years of reflection. Schweitzer only became even more firmly convinced that one should not impose his opinions and assessments on other people, he vividly felt the immorality of any attempts to invade someone else's soul. He will repeat many times in his works, and it will be holy to keep the commandment all his life: "Do not judge others."
Albert Schweitzer graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, engaged in medical practice, defended his dissertation in medicine, and in 1913, together with Helena Breslau, whom he had married the year before, went to Africa, to the place that has since become famous Lambarene. There he immediately began to practice medicine and began to build a hospital, the funds for which he had collected in advance. Schweitzer remained faithful to the chosen path until the end of his long life. He visited Europe many times, sometimes staying there for several years, among other things and even primarily in order to raise money for his hospital, which eventually grew into a small medical town. However, his main business was the treatment of patients in Africa.
As you know, Schweitzer tried more than once to realize his principle of serving a person: in his student years he wanted to take part in the care of street children, later he was engaged in arranging the life of vagrants and people who had served prison sentences. However, this activity did not satisfy him, because it made him dependent on philanthropic organizations, which were far from always perfect. And the general atmosphere of charitable activity, which in many cases turns into self-deception of an unclean conscience, could not satisfy Schweitzer, who was acutely aware of any falseness. Work in Africa attracted him precisely because of its independence from official charity. At the same time, at first he intended to go there as a missionary, but was surprised to find that for the leaders of the Paris Missionary Society the subtleties of theological convictions were much more important than readiness for Christian service. And then he decides to work only as a doctor in order to minimize dependence on the Missionary Society.
The specific form of serving a person, chosen by Schweitzer, was, one might say, the most selfless: the doctor does not impose his services on others (otherwise there is always doubt about the purity of motives), but on the contrary, others who are in need themselves seek help from him. As a doctor, Schweitzer could put himself at the service of people almost everywhere, including in equatorial Africa, in any circumstances, even in the camp where he was interned during the First World War. The practice of medicine was almost ideal for an individualist who jealously limits his activity to the limits of personal responsibility - here these limits are set by the physical capabilities of the doctor himself.
A. Schweitzer was a very organized person and had an amazing capacity for work. Being engaged in the hospital - and as a doctor, and as a director, and as a builder, and as an economist - he found more time for musical experiments. And he did not stop his scientific studies. Starting with his first dissertation "Philosophy of Religion by I. Kant" (1899) and until the end of his life, he conducted research in the field of philosophy, ethics, and theology.
In the 1950s, he joined the struggle for peace, more precisely, for the prohibition of atomic weapons. In 1952 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
It is usually said about Schweitzer that he abandoned the fate of a prosperous European, a brilliant career as a scientist, teacher, musician and devoted himself to the treatment of blacks in the hitherto unknown town of Lambarene. But the fact of the matter is that he did not refuse. He took place both as an outstanding thinker, cultural figure and as a knight of mercy. The most striking thing about it is the combination of both. He removed the dilemma of civilization and merciful love for man in the most productive way. The solution he proposes can be summed up in the words: civilization at the service of merciful love. Schweitzer, in the experience of his life, combined things that were considered and are considered incompatible: self-affirmation and self-denial, individual good and moral obligations. He devoted the first half of his life to self-affirmation, the second to self-denial, the first to himself, the second to others. He understood the ratio of these two moments as a hierarchy and practiced serving people in such a form that allowed him to act as a bearer of the spirit of civilization and even continue (already, of course, as a sideline) his activities as a philosopher and musician.
Albert Schweitzer died in Lambarene in 1965. He is also buried there. The medical complex in Lambarene continues to function fully thanks to the efforts of friends and followers of the outstanding humanist and thinker of the 20th century.
"I am a life that wants to live in the midst of other lives that want to live." (A. Schweitzer
“A personal example is not just best method beliefs, but the only one." (A. Schweitzer)
"Civilization is such a great idea that someone has to start implementing it." (Schweitzer).
“Truth has no fixed hour. Its time always comes when and only when it turns out to be the most untimely. (A. Schweitzer)
"True ethics begins where the use of words ceases." (A. Schweitzer)
We are always dissatisfied with something. Someone is dissatisfied with their parents, someone with children, someone with a failed career. Albert Schweitzer was dissatisfied with the fact that an unfair amount of happiness fell to his lot. At thirty, this man had achieved everything. Doctor of Philosophy, assistant professor of theology, a brilliant organist, who was met with triumph in many European cities. Whatever he did, he was expected to succeed. But from a young age he was tormented by the only question - for what, for what sins people drag out a difficult life, and for what merits he got so much happiness.
And one day it happened. Quite by chance, he came across an article with a report from the French missionary society on the state of affairs in the French colony of Gabon. It was written there that doctors are urgently needed in Gabon. The search has been completed. Schweitzer enters the medical faculty of the university. Five years of study, then two years of practice. And finally, he becomes a certified doctor. His friends could not believe that Schweitzer was leaving for Africa. And he was in no hurry to dissuade them, and besides, he often visited them with requests to donate money for medicines and medical equipment for his future hospital. Many times Schweitzer noticed how the tone and attitude of his friends towards him changed when they realized that he had come as a petitioner. But even here he did not lose heart, and later he even said that the kindness that he met at that time outweighed the humiliations that he had to endure hundreds of times. He told his followers, whom he called the lucky ones who managed to challenge the usual notions of happiness: “He who intends to do good should not expect people to remove all the stones from his path, he must calmly accept his lot even if new ones will be piled on him.”
It was not easy for Schweitzer to give up everything he had lived for thirty years. The last days of his stay in Europe, he even tried to be less on the streets of his native city, so that feelings would not prevent him from being firm. He knew he was losing everything. He won't be able to practice scientific work, music, and, in addition, loses his high position, and financially he will now have to completely depend on the location of his friends who support him.
In 1913, Schweitzer finally found himself in the tiny African village of Lambarene, which would become his second home. There were many things to do. We had to build a hospital. While construction was going on, he received people in his house, and outbuildings used as operating rooms and dressing rooms. But in 1914 the first World War, and the French authorities interned him as a German subject. Schweitzer ended up in a POW camp. Four years in captivity undermined his health, but did not break his spirit. Having gone to Africa after the war, he found only ruins on the site of his hospital, but found the strength to start all over again.
Most of all, Schweitzer was depressed by the absence of assistants. Of course, the climate that was detrimental to a European and the lack of normal living conditions could scare away even the most daring. In addition, Schweitzer had difficulty finding funds for medicines and equipment, and payment was out of the question. But not without reason Schweitzer said: "My knowledge is pessimistic, but my faith is optimistic." He believed that the God who inspired him would inspire someone else. In 1924, a second doctor appeared in Lamparin, and later five doctors and sixteen nurses worked at the center. These few people served 660 patients. There were still not enough people, and local residents, once healed by a doctor, came to the rescue. Having mastered the necessary skills, they became faithful and diligent assistants to professional doctors.
Meanwhile, Europe was flaring up new war. And while the Big White Doctor (as he was called in Lamparene) fought in Africa for every human life, tens of thousands were burned in the furnaces of war. Many wanted to see an authoritative doctor as their ally. But Schweitzer refused everyone. He did not want to participate in this massacre on anyone's side. He went on with his life's work without interruption for a moment.
August 6, 1945. A woman in labor in serious condition cannot give birth to a child. As a result of a complex operation that lasted all night, the mother and baby were saved. Meanwhile, in another part of the world, a bomb was dropped, which in a matter of seconds wiped out an entire city from the ground and claimed tens of thousands of lives. On that day, Schweitzer said: "When one hundred thousand people are killed by a single bomb, it is my duty to prove to the world how valuable a single human life is." The next twenty years, in addition to directly saving lives, he devoted to the fight against nuclear weapons tests. In 1952 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. It is said that when he was informed of this, he was at the antelope stable, clearing out manure. Hearing the news, he nodded and continued to work. With the money received, Schweitzer built a leper colony in Lamparin. He spent almost half a century in Africa, sometimes traveling to Europe to give a few lectures and give a few organ recitals. With the money he earned, he bought medicines and equipment for his hospital.
Living such a sacrificial life, he never reproached anyone. On the contrary, he was very sorry for people who, due to circumstances, cannot devote their lives to others. And he always urged those to take advantage of every opportunity to do good. “There is no person who does not have the opportunity to give himself to people and thereby show his human essence. Anyone who uses every opportunity to be human can save his life by doing something for those who need help - no matter how modest his activity may be. In general, Schweitzer believed that a person has no right to judge anyone but himself, and the only thing he can preach is his way of life.
The 20th century, cruel and contradictory… But against the background of cruelty and evil, those who called for goodness and peace shine even brighter, and showed love for their neighbor with their lives. Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and of course the "Big White Doctor" Albert Schweitzer. “Then the King will say to those on His right hand: Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you accepted Me; was naked, and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him: Lord! when we saw you hungry and fed you? or thirsty, and drink? when we saw you as a stranger and received you? or naked and clothed? when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you? And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, because you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”
"I don't know another person in whom kindness and the desire for beauty are so perfectly combined, as in Albert Schweitzer." - This is how Einstein described Albert Schweitzer, an outstanding theologian, philosopher, musician and physician, on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
We bring to your attention a small selection of quotes from this man.
"My knowledge is pessimistic, but my faith is optimistic."
"Not out of a feeling of kindness towards another, I am meek, peaceful, patient and affable - I am like that because in this behavior I secure the deepest self-affirmation."
"The one who considers himself a Christian just because he goes to church is mistaken.
To learn how to pray, you first need to learn how to give thanks."
"Each of us must repay an unusual debt: to pay for life with life."
"For a person who is over 60, I have one recipe: work hard and work even harder!"
"Good is to preserve life, to promote life, evil is to destroy life, to harm life."
"True optimism ... consists in striving for a conscious ideal ..."
"... A fulfilled desire most often brings disappointment, for only the expected joy is true joy ..."
"What is usually considered optimism is nothing more than a natural or acquired ability to see things in a rosy light."
"The fate of any truth is first to be ridiculed, and then recognized."
"Man masters nature, not yet learned to control himself."
"The ethical is more than the non-egoistic!
Ethics is an unlimited responsibility for everything that lives.
We need to rise to spirituality, which is ethical, and to ethics, which includes all spirituality.
"Abstraction is death for ethics, because ethics is a living relationship to living life."
"You don't have to be an angel to become a saint."
"True ethics begins where they stop using words."
"If you look from the outside, my life may seem full of adventures. In principle, it is very simple. My ancestors were teachers and organists. Therefore, passing by a rural school, I always feel a certain sense of longing for the profession that my ancestors traditionally practiced ."
"At twenty, each of us has the face given to us by God; at forty, the face that life has given us; at sixty, the face we deserve."
"To understand whether animals have a soul, you must have a soul yourself."
"Only two things bring relief from life's troubles: music and cats"
"It is tragic not that a person dies, but that in a person dies during life..."
"Leading by example is not the main way to influence other people. It's just the only way."
Nobel Peace Prize, 1952
The German physician, missionary, theologian and musicologist Albert Schweitzer was born in Keyserberg (Upper Alsace, now the Upper Rhine), in the family he was the second child and eldest son. Shortly after Albert's birth, his parents, the Lutheran priest Louis Schweitzer and Adele Schillinger, moved to Gunsbach. Since the French province of Alsace was annexed by Germany as a result of the Franco-Prussian war of 1871, W. received German citizenship. His parents were French, and Sh. learned to speak both languages fluently. Under the guidance of his father, at the age of five, he began to play the piano, four years later he could sometimes replace the organist of the village church.
While attending high school in Münster, and then in Mühlhausen, W. simultaneously learned to play the organ with Eugene Münch. After graduating from school in 1893, he entered the University of Strasbourg, where he studied theology and philosophy. He passed the first exam in theology in 1898, at the same time he was awarded a scholarship that gave W. the opportunity to study philosophy at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) and take organ lessons from Sh.-M. Vidor. In just four months he wrote his dissertation, "The Essence of Faith: The Philosophy of Religion" ("Die Religions philosophic Kants"), and in 1899 he received a Ph.D. Two years later, he earned a doctorate in theology with a dissertation on the meaning of the Last Supper.
In 1902, Mr.. Sh. was appointed professor at the Theological College of St.. Thomas, and a year later became its director. In addition to lecturing, W. played the organ and was engaged in scientific work. The main theological work of S. - "Von Reimarus zu Wrede" (1906), translated under the title "The Question of the Historical Jesus", in it S. rejected attempts to modernize Jesus or deny him historicity. Sh. emphasized the eschatological nature of the mission of Christ and saw in his suffering a means of achieving the Kingdom of God on earth.
At the same time, W. became a major specialist in the work of Bach, whose biography he published in 1908 (Bach was dedicated to his doctoral dissertation in musicology, defended in Strasbourg three years later). S. considered Bach as a religious mystic, whose music connected the text with the "true poems of nature." His book refuted "the pedantic view of Bach's music, supposedly intellectual and austere," wrote Rosalyn Turek, "but also rejected the romantic sentimentality with which Bach was accustomed to perform." W. was the largest expert on the design of organs. His book on the subject, published in 1906, saved many organs from unnecessary modernization.
Despite achievements in philosophy, theology, musicology, W. felt obliged to fulfill the oath given to himself at the age of 21 years. Considering himself indebted to the world, W. then decided to engage in art and science until the age of 30, and then devote himself to "direct service to humanity." An article about the shortage of doctors in Africa, which he read in the journal of the Paris Missionary Society, prompted Sh. what should be done to fulfill his plan. “From now on, I was not to talk about the gospel of love,” he later explained, “but to put it into practice.”
Leaving work in 1905, W. entered the Medical College of the University of Strasbourg, reimbursing the cost of education through organ concerts. In 1911 he passed the exams, and a year later he married Helena Breslau, in 1919 their daughter Rena was born.
In 1913, Mr.. Sh. and his wife sailed to Africa, on behalf of the Paris Missionary Society, they were to establish a mission hospital in Lambarene (French Equatorial Africa, now Gabon). The demand for his services was enormous. Without receiving medical care, the natives suffered from malaria, yellow fever, sleeping sickness, dysentery, and leprosy. In the first nine months Sh. took 2 thousand patients.
In 1917, Mr.. Sh. and his wife, as German subjects, were interned in France until the end of the First World War. After his release, Sh. spent another seven years in Europe. Emaciated, ill, exhausted by the need to pay the debts of Lambarin, he worked in the municipal hospital in Strasbourg, in addition, he resumed organ concerts. With the help of Archbishop Nathan Söderblum, in 1920 he gave concerts and lectured at Uppsala University and other places.
During these years, S. developed a system of ethical principles, which he called "Respect for Life" ("Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben"). He presented his views in the books "Philosophy of Culture I: The Decline and Rebirth of Civilization" ("Kulturphilosophie I: Verfall und Wiederaufbau der Kultur") and "Philosophy of Culture II: Culture and Ethics" ("Kulturphilosophie II: Kultur und Ethik"), published in 1923
“The definition of ethics seems to me like this,” Sh. explained, “That which supports and continues life is good; that which damages and disrupts life is bad. Deep and universal ethics have the meaning of religion. She is religion." Reverence for life, Sh. continued, "requires everyone to sacrifice a particle of his life for the sake of others."
Returning to Lambarene in 1924, W. found the hospital in ruins. His new hospital gradually grew into a complex of 70 buildings, staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses. The complex was built as a typical African village, electricity was provided only to operating rooms. Animals roamed freely around, and family members were allowed to care for the sick during their recovery. The purpose of W. was to inspire the confidence of the natives, helping them in familiar conditions for them. By the beginning of the 60s. Sh.'s hospital housed 500 people.
Periods of work in Africa W. alternated with trips to Europe, during which he gave lectures, gave concerts to raise funds for the hospital. He has received many awards. In 1928, the city of Frankfurt awarded him the Goethe Prize, paying tribute to the "Goethe spirit" of S. and noting the service to humanity. During the 30s. journalism, recordings of concerts and translations of the main works won Sh.'s fame all over the world. When the war broke out in Europe in 1939, medicines for Lambarene began to come from the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. After the war, the flow of goods increased. In 1951, Mr.. W. received the Peace Prize of the West German Association of Book Publishers and Booksellers. In the same year he was elected a member of the French Academy.
In 1953, Mr.. W. was in Lambarene when the news came that he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. The representative of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Gunnar Jan said: “Sh. showed that a person's life and his dream can merge together. His work breathed life into the concept of brotherhood, his words reached the consciousness of countless people and left a salutary trace there. W. could not leave their duties in Africa to attend the awards ceremony, so the award was accepted by the French ambassador in Norway. With the money received from the Nobel Committee, W. built a leper colony near the hospital in Lambarene.
At the end of 1954, Mr.. W. went to Oslo, where on November 4 delivered the Nobel lecture "Problems of the World." In it, he expressed his conviction that humanity should abandon wars for ethical reasons, since "war makes us guilty of the crime of inhumanity." In his opinion, only when the ideal of peace takes root in people's minds can we expect the effective work of institutions designed to protect the world.
In 1957, Mr.. Sh. made a "Declaration of Conscience", broadcast over the radio from Oslo. In it he called on all ordinary people of the world to unite and demand from their governments a ban on nuclear weapons tests. Shortly thereafter, 2,000 American scientists signed a petition to end atomic testing, Bertrand Russell and Canon Collins in England launched a campaign for nuclear disarmament. Arms control negotiations began in 1958, which culminated five years later in a formal superpower test-ban treaty.
Estimates of the work Sh. were heterogeneous. Some considered his medical practice in the jungle a waste of talent, others accused him of running away from life. Gerald McKnight in the book "Schweitzer's Verdict" called Lambarene a place where Sh. could exercise absolute power. Many journalists considered Sh.'s paternalistic attitude towards patients to be a reminiscence of missionary times. Critics also noted his lack of understanding of African nationalist aspirations, harsh, authoritarian treatment of assistants; some of the visitors spoke about the low level of sanitation in the Sh hospital. Despite this, many (especially in America) saw Sh. as a saint of the 20th century. Thanks to public speaking and photographs in the press, he was recognized all over the world. One of the visitors to Lambarene especially noted his hands "with huge sensitive fingers, which equally deftly sewed up a wound, repaired a roof, played Bach on the organ, wrote down words about Goethe's significance for civilization in a period of decline." W. died in Lambarene on September 4, 1965 and was buried next to his wife, who died in 1957. The management of the hospital passed to their daughter.
Nobel Prize Laureates: Encyclopedia: Per. from English - M .: Progress, 1992.
© The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
© Translation into Russian with additions, Progress Publishing House, 1992.