Initiated by Luk Bouckaert (KU Leuven) and Knut Ims (NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen) the European SPES Institute undertakes a project that aims to recontextualize Albert Schweitzer’s eco-oriented ethics for the Anthropocene era.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)
Albert Schweitzer formulated an experience-based foundation for ethics based on the principle Reverence For Life (“Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben”), and that he contributed to a pioneering eco-ethics that should be brought up to date for our time. Schweitzer’s philosophy implies a new sense of authenticity no longer based on the modern ego-centric notion of autonomy but on the alter-centric notion of reverence for life. This foundational principle is conceived as an unconditional and inclusive respect for life in all its manifestations.