The Ethics of Reverence for Life

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.