Reverence for Life (UK)

THE PLACE OF ETHICS IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE. Editor?s note: The context of this conversation is fully explained in the text. It marked the beginning of Percy Mark?s sustained effort to explore and give expression to his attempt to seriously engage with the challenges of our time and to ?nd the root-causes which work towards a change of direction.

18.01.2008. It was mid-January. My wife Vreni and I were spending a few weeks in the Bernese Oberland, in the small town of Zweisimmen, where Vreni?s brother and sister live. Skiing conditions were good and Vreni?s brother, Klaus, having just retired from being a sixth-form teacher, had the time to accompany me on the slopes. At the age of 72 I was no longer the fastest skier on the pistes, nor was I interested in any black runs, but skiing is still my most favourite sport. Klaus, aged 65, was much ?tter and faster than I, but ambition for speed and daring were no longer his main concerns either. So we had a good time together enjoying the ?oating feeling of gliding gently through the powder snow and perfecting our style in making turns with the minimum of effort.

Lunch on the mountain is by no means the least of the attractions to be found in this way of life. On this occasion we had chosen the restaurant high up on the Saanersloch to have our frankfurters and chips and enjoy the glorious sunshine on the terrace, with panoramic views all around. We chatted about the wonderful snow-conditions, the lack of "crowds" after the New Year stampede, the amazing weather and of course the fantastic views, with Klaus explaining the various mountain ranges and peaks, - as you do when you?re high up in Switzerland - even if you?re an Austrian! After a little pause whilst munching our chips, I started the conversation again:

PERCY: "May I ask you something completely different?"

KLAUS: "Of course."

PERCY: "Could you describe for me what the words ?Culture? and ?Civilization? mean to you? Do they mean more or less the same?"

KLAUS: "No, I don?t think of them as being the same. Under ?Culture? I would include music, painting, sculpture, - all the major arts, - like literature, theatre, opera, also ?lms and the like. Until a short while ago I thought that only the classical arts and music were included, but I had to give up this narrow interpretation when our government offered ?nancial support in the form of grants to encourage our cultural life; - because then jazz-groups and pop-groups came forward, - alpine folk-singers and yodeling groups and all sorts of activities which had to be accepted as ?cultural pursuits?. Mind you, one does have to ask oneself nowadays, how far you can take that. Anyway, that is our culture. Other peoples have other cultures. History shows that there were periods of ?high culturural achievements? and then again ?cultural low-points? with very little that has been handed down. Civilization is more dif?cult to de?ne, and there is a real danger of being biased: but anyway, crudely expressed, we are civilized in comparison to a bushman in Africa. Here it is more a question of the organization of society, its institutions, laws and traditions, its technical and scienti?c achievements, its works of craft and architectural merit. Here too, history has examples of  high civilizations like those of ancient Egypt and Greece, or the Mayas and Incas of South America or the ancient Chinese.........." I interrupted:

PERCY: "This is most helpful, -many thanks. Now I will tell you why I asked the question. You know that I have immersed myself deeply in the legacy of Albert Schweitzer. We know that from the age of 25 onwards, he was convinced that western civilization is in decline if not in a state of terminal disintegration. And I am trying to correctly understand and evaluate this view of his: - I mean, - to ?nd out, when this decline began, when in his view our civilization was at its height and what it is, that is being lost in the decline."

KLAUS: "Well, in my career, especially as a 6th form teacher, I have experienced very clearly what is being lost. I can certainly give you an example of that! You know that it has always been a great concern of mine to incorporate as much cultural content into my classroom activities as possible. We did a lot of play-acting and of course a lot of music, we made extensive trips to France, Italy and Holland to see their architecture and their art, and we made frequent visits to museums and art galleries. I always tried to provide maximum opportunity for my pupils to have varied cultural experiences, - and that was completely incorporated into the curriculum. This has all been stopped. The curriculum now prescribed has changed priorities to such an extent, that such things are no longer possible. There you have one example anyway."

PERCY: "It?s hardly credible, that this has happened here in Switzerland as well as in England. My daughter Franziska, who is a primary school teacher as you know, has a very similar story to tell, and we thought that this only applied to the UK. It?s an excellent example. But may I go back to Schweitzer, - because the crux of what I am working on has to do with ethics. As a result of my repeated reading of some of Schweitzer?s books I was under the impression, that ethics are an essential part of what is considered to be true Culture and Civilization, and I have assumed that this is generally accepted. I was therefore most surprised when, during conversations with my sister and her husband in Vienna last November, it became clear, that this is not at all so. They like to quickly consult the dictionary in such conversations and that conclusively proved me wrong: - and now you have clearly con?rmed that for me too: In the generally accepted de?nition of these two words, ethics does not get a mention. Of course I then immediately checked this out in the Oxford dictionary when I got back to England and found it con?rmed again."

KLAUS: "Well I do believe that is so, -but of course I haven?t got access to a dictionary up here on the mountain. Ethics are not something many people talk about these days; - but perhaps it is coming more into focus again now, - I mean in connection with the concerns about the environment, the protection of nature, climate change and all that."

PERCY: "Well, for me that doesn?t necessarily have anything to do with ethics. If we begin to realize that we are endangering our habitat, and may be even our existence, and we start to worry about that, then this is initially only the instinct of self-preservation kicking in and has nothing to do with ethics. It would only indicate, that we are realizing our stupidity and ignorance compared to the animal world, which would never knowingly destroy its living conditions. In connection with the concept of "Civilization" this only shows that man as a creature has sunk in intelligence below that of the of the animal world and would only re-enforce Schweitzer?s view of things in this respect. That mankind is beginning to take notice and worry about it, could of course be regarded as a turning point, - though not from the high plateau of incomparable achievement which scientists and economists would have us believe, but from a low ebb of cultural and civilized behavior."

KLAUS: "Whaw, that is harsh! But I can see where you?re coming from."

We had ?nished our frankfurters and chips, and Klaus got up to bring some coffee and the obligatory Swiss chocolate. We sat and admired the view and enjoyed the fragrance of the coffee for a little while. Then Klaus asked:

KLAUS: "Well now, what do you understand by ethics? What can you say about it?"

I had to gather my thoughts in response to such a direct question. Eventually I tried to answer:

PERCY: "Schweitzer of course concerned himself very deeply with this question. He studied all the great religions to which he had access, in order to ?nd out to what extent they embodied and encompassed ethical thinking within them. In the end he came back to Christianity as having - in-spite of everything - the highest conception of the ethical."

KLAUS: "And that is... ?"