Reviews for Reverance for Life: The Ethics of Albert Schweitzer for the Twenty-First Century

The average rating for Reverance for Life: The Ethics of Albert Schweitzer for the Twenty-First Century based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-08-12 00:00:00 Jordan Lulich This is a must read if you're interested in the details of Schweitzer's Reverence for Life philosophy. The first part of the book features pieces from Schweitzer's published work. At times, Schweitzer could be a little esoteric, and his published works are often difficult to completely grasp. However, these segments are clear and easy to read, and they nicely outline his philosophy. The rest of the book features essays and meditations on the philosophy from scholars, students, and followers of the philosophy. I find the philosophy of Reverence for Life to be very moving and pragmatic. It's a call to not just accept that all beings want to live as we do, but to purposefully act on that acceptance (as Schweitzer suggests, this is the aim of ethics.) If you want to dig deeper into his philosophy and thoughts, I highly recommend this compilation.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-11-28 00:00:00 Anthony Braxton This was an interesting enough story, and Ellis clearly tried to stick as close to the facts as possible, but I didn't think it was as polished as it could have been. If I had been Ellis's co-writer I would have edited out all the "I still remember to this day" (Well, of course you do, or it wouldn't be in the book.) There were other parts where he would say something like, "I can't talk about that." Why did you even bring it up then? He also alluded to researching Saddam's life for the book but presented these facts without any real authority. "They say that Saddam fathered a child..." Hmm, well okay, I guess I should do my own research then to find out if that's true. There is a bibliography in the back of the book, but I think if the authors had taken the time to footnote their information it would have made for more powerful and assertive read. As it was written I was often left wondering, "Is that an accurate understanding of that part of the dictator's life, what source is he drawing upon?" The author also makes a revelation about himself very late in the book which comes as sort of a bombshell. I thought this would have been better laid out earlier in the book so the reader could interpret his interactions with Saddam with those facts in mind. Came away with the impression -- this was a good guy, a competent medical professional, who had a unique relationship with an infamous man.